Jflunicipa!  Branch 


REPORT 


TO 


The  Board  of  Public  Improvements 


ON  THE 


WATER  SUPPLY  OF  ST.  LOUIS 


Bureau  of  Governor, 'a!  R3-^ 

Library  <; 

BY  THE  University  of  California 

Lo«  Ang^e,  24,  California 

WATER  COMMISSIONER 
EDWARD  E.  WALL 


Compliments  of 

APR  13  1951 


Water  Commissioner. 


INDEX 

Main  Report  to  B.  P.  I 5 

Appendix  "A,"  Capacities    23 

Appendix  "B,"  Water  Consumption,  Quality  and  Treatment  36 

Appendix  "C,"  Water  Consumption,   Meters,    Supply    69 

Appendix  "D,"  Water  Rates    85 

Additions,  Necessary,  Intake  Tower  30 

Additions,  Necessary,  Settling  Basins    31 

Additions,  Necessary,  Conduits    32 

Additions,  Necessary,  Clear  Water  Basins   32 

Additions,  Necessary,  Pumps   and    Boilers    9,  21,  34,  82,  83 

Bacterial    Removal    52 

Baden  Pumping  Station   8 

Basins,  Chain    ; 7,27 

Bissell's  Point,  Pumping  Station,  Nos.  1  and  2  8,  9 

Bissell's  Point,  Reservoir    30 

Boilers,  Baden    8,  60 

Boilers,  Chain    7 

Bond  Issues,  for  Extensions    94 

Bond  Issues,  for  New  Work   19 

Bonuses  to  Manufacturers 92 

Capacity,  Chain  of  Rocks  Plant  14 

Capacity,  Intake  Tower  6 

Capacity,  Purification  Plant   16 

Capacity  and  Population  of  Other  Cities  19 

Capital  Account,  Separate   94 

Chain  of  Rocks,  Pumping  Station 5 

Changes  Suggested   57 

Charts,  Population  and  Consumption 12,  13 

Charts,  Dissolved  and  Suspended  Solids,  Stage  of  River 42 

Charts,  Consumption  and  Clarification 51 

Charts,  Consumption  in  Various  Cities 72 

Charts,  Chemical  and  Physical  Data  Comparison  39 

City  Departments  Pay  for  Water 94 

Clarification  Plant,  Present    15,  16,  46 

Clarification  Plant,  Proposed    36 

Coagulant  Plant  and  Settling  Basins  7,  8,  28 

Comparative  Results  of  Propositions  ) 79 

Comparison  of  Users  of  Water,  Percentage  Metered   69 

Comparison  of  Users  of  Water,  Per  Capita  69 

Comparison  of  Users  of  Water,  In  Residences   70 

Comparison  of  Users  of  Water,  In  Residences,  Per  Capita  70 

Comparison  of  Per  Capita  Use  by  Months  71 

Compton  Hill  Reservoir   30 

Conduits    8,  28,  29,  32 

Cost,  Chemicals,  Present  Plant  57 

Cost,  Changing  Present  Plant 9 

Cost,  Missouri  River  Plant  35 

Cost,  Filtration   Plant   61 

Cost,  Chemicals,  New  Plant   63 

Cost,  Meters    74 

Cost,  New   Extensions    87 

Cost,  Future  Estimated  87 

Cost,  Increased  by  Extensions  and  Free  Water 94 

Consumption    11,  17,  28,  29 


(1) 


2 INDEX 

Consumption,  Reduced  by  Meters  18,  19,  74 

County  Pipe  Line,  Proposed   32*£ 

Daily  Working  Capacities , 9 

Diagram,  Mixing  Chamber  and  Filter  Plant 62 

Distribution  System    10 

Distribution  System,  Mains  in  County   35 

Distribution  System,  Residual  Solids   54 

Distribution  System,  Sedimentation  in  Mains  54 

Distribution  System,  Incrustation   55 

Domestic  Use   71 

Efficiency  of  Clarification   50 

Engine  House,  Nos.  1  and  2,  Bissell's  Point 8,  9 

Estimated  Loss  of  Revenue  by  Change  of  Rates 88 

Estimated  Meter  Costs  74 

Estimated  Reduction  of  Consumption  by  Meters  74 

Estimated  Meter  Maintenance 75 

Estimated  Extensions  Necessary  Without  Meters 75 

Expenditures   86 

Expenditures  Covered  by  Recommendations 21 

Extensions  and  Free  Water  Increase  Rates 94 

Filter  Plant   34,  60 

Filtration,  Necessity  of 60 

Filling  Conduits 27 

Flat  Rates 85 

Flow  Line 28,  29 

Free  Water,  25%   88 

Free  Water  and  Extensions  Increase  Rates  87,  94 

Future  Costs,  Estimated   87 

Gate  Capacity   25 

Grate  Area  26 

High    and  Low  Pressure  Districts  10 

Ice  Troubles    6 

Increase  in  Capacity   14,  16 

Incrustation  in  Distribution  System 55 

Inequality  of  Present  Meter  Rates 89 

Intake  Tower  and  Tunnel  5,  6,  23 

Jefferson  Barracks  Rate 88 

Land  Required  for  Proposed  Plant 33 

Loss  of  Revenue,  Estimated    88 

Loss  of  Revenue,  How  Remedied 89 

Mains,  Distribution  System   10 

Manufacturers,  Percentage  Water  Cost 92 

Manufacturers'  Bonus,  How  Secured 92 

Manufacturers'  Rate    88 

Measurement  of  Pumpage 88 

Meters  Rates  Proposed,  Result  of   90,  91 

Meters,  Use  of  18,  69 

Meters  Reduce  Waste  of  Water  74 

Meters,  Costs,  Estimated  74 

Meters,  Maintenance,  Estimated   74,  75 

Meters  Reduce  Amount  of  Necessary  Extensions 75,  80 

Meters,  Present  Inequality  of  Rates 89 

Metered  \Vater,  Percentage  of .85 


INDEX  3 

Mineralization 41 

Minimum  Rate  Plan N 90 

Missouri  River  Plant,  Proposed   32 

Missouri  River  Plant,  Map  St.  Louis  County  Pipe  Line,  Proposed 32% 

Missouri  River  Plant,  Land  Required   33 

Missouri  River  Plant,  Intake  and  Tunnel   33 

Missouri  River  Plant,  Pumping  Station 33 

Missouri  River  Plant,  Estimated  Cost  34 

Missouri  River  Plant,  Pump  Mains  34 

Missouri  River  Plant,  Reservoirs  and  Filters  34 

Missouri  River  Plant,  Distribution  Main  in  County  35 

Mixing  Chambers 58 

New  Extensions,  Cost   87 

New  Orleans  and  Louisville  Water  Charges 93 

Operations  of  Filter  Plant 63 

Organisms  in  Water  44 

Per  Capita  Use,  Comparison    69 

Per  Capita  Use,  Residence    70 

Percentage  Water  Cost  to  Manufacturers 92 

Percentage  of  Water  Rates  Metered  85 

Pitometer  Surveys   18 

Plans  Suggested  19,  21,  22 

Present  Clarification  Plant  16 

Proposed  Pipe  Line  St.  Louis  County 32% 

Proposed  New  Location  15 

Propositions,  Three  Suggested 76 

Proposition,  Cost  of  No.  1 76 

Proposition,  Cost  of  No.  2 77 

Proposition,  Cost  of  No.  3  78 

Proposition,  Result  of  No.  1     78 

Proposition,  Result  of  No.  2     79 

Proposition,  Result  of  No.  3     79 

Proposition,  Comparative  Results  79 

Proposition,  No.  1,  Cost  of  Water  to  1960  81 

Proposition,  No.  2,  Cost  of  Water  to  1960  82 

Proposition,  No.  3,  Cost  of  Water  to  1960  82 

Proposition,  Yearly  Cost  of,  Estimated 83 

Public  School  Rate  88 

Pumpage,  One-Fourth  Unmeasured  88 

Pumps,  Baden    8 

Pumps,  Chain  of  Rocks  7 

Pump  Mains   9 

Pumping  Station,  Chain  of  Rocks    5 

Pumping  Station,  Baden    8 

Pumping  Station,  Bissell's   Point    8 

Pumping  Station,  Missouri   River    32,  33,  34,  35 

Purification  Costs   86 

Purity  Standards   56 

Quality  of  Water  36 

Rates  Increased  by  Free  Water 94 

Rates,  Inequality  of  Present  Meter  89 

Rates,  Minimum  Rate  Plan   90 

Rates,  Service  Charge   95 

Rates,  Jefferson  Barracks  88 

Rates,  Public   Schools 88 

Rational  Rate  Making  .                                             92 


4  INDEX 

Readings,  Pumpings,  Water  Elevation,  Loss  of  Head   24 

Readings,  Gauge    29 

Rebates  in  Water  Rates   90 

Recommendations   19,  20,  21 

Reductions  of  Cost  by  Meters  75 

Reservoirs,  Bissell's  Point 30 

Reservoirs,  Chain  of  Rocks 7 

Reservoirs,  Compton    Hill    30 

Reservoirs.  Missouri  River 35 

Residual  Solids  in  Distribution  System  54 

Revenue  from  Water  Rates 85 

Revenue,  Loss  of,  How  Remedied  89 

Service   Charges    93 

Settling  Basins,  Chain  of  Rocks  27,  31 

Sinking   Fund    84 

Sliding  Scale  of  Rates  91 

Sludge    52 

Standards  of  Purity   56 

St.  Louis  Color  Determinations   38 

St.  Louis  County  Pipe  Line  Proposed   32% 

Storage,  Chain  of  Rocks  7 

Storage,  Baden    8,  30 

Storage,  Bissell's  Point    8,  30 

Storage,  Compton  Hill  30 

Suggested  Plans   19,  20,  21 

Supply  and  Purifying  Division  23 

Tables,  Chemical   Cost    57 

Tables,  Comparison   Analysis  of  Missouri,   Mississippi    and    Illinois    River 

Waters 43 

Tables,  Comparison  Classification  Results   47,  48 

Tables,  Comparison  Hardness  of  Waters   44 

Tables,  Bacteria  per  C.  C 68 

Tables,  Effect  of  Cleaning  Basins 53 

Tables,  Maximum,  Minimum,  Average,  Suspended  Solids 66 

Tables,  Minimum  Rates   95 

Tables,  Residence  Consumption 95 

Tables,  Results  of  Proposed  Rates  on  Last  Year's  Meter  Record 91 

Tables,  Sedimentation  in  Mains  54 

Tables,  Service  Charges    93,  95 

Tables,  Mississippi  and  Missouri  River,  Color  Comparisons   40 

Tables,  Mississippi  and  Missouri  River  Water  41 

Tables,  Suspended  Solids  1906  to  1912  66 

Tables,  Suspended  Solids  in  Successive  Basins  50 

Tables,  Wind  Effect  on  Bacteria  Removal  53 

Treatment  of  Water    45 

Tunnel,   Intake    24,  33 

Use  of  Meters  18 

Uses  of  Water,  Comparison  69 

Velocities,  at  Tower   .   26 

Waste  in  Other  Cities 17 

Water  Consumption    69 

Water  Meters    18,  69 

Water  Rates    .   35 

Water  Supply     * 69 

Water  Waste   18,  73 


CITY  OF  SAINT  LOUIS, 

OFFICE  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


Saint  Louis,  November  1  ,  1912. 

Honorable  Board  of  Public  Improvements: 

Gentlemen: — In  order  to  present  the  question  of  the  Water  Supply 
for  the  City  of  Saint  Louis  to  you  for  consideration,  I  desire  to  lay 
before  you  a  full  and  comprehensive  report  on  the  capacity  of  the 
present  works  as  they  exist  at  this  date,  the  increased  capacity  when 
the  present  contracts  are  completed,  the  necessity  of  providing  for  in- 
creased consumption,  the  desirability  of  furnishing  better  water,  and 
the  means  by  which  such  results  may  be  attained. 

Figures  and  estimates  embodied  in  this  report,  relative  to  the  oper- 
ating and  construction  costs  of  various  branches  of  the  work,  were 
prepared  by  the  Engineers  in  Charge  of  the  various  divisions  as  follows : 

For  the  Supply  and  Purifying  Division — Mr.  G.  G.  Black. 
For  the  Clarification  Work — Mr.  Wilson  F.  Monfort. 
For  the  Pumping  Division — Mr.  Leonard  A.  Day. 
For  the  Distribution  System — Mr.  Francis  T.  Cutts. 

The  material  prepared  by  Messrs.  Day  and  Cutts  has  been  included 
in  the  body  of  the  report  and  various  appendices.  The  reports  of 
Messrs.  Black  and  Monfort,  on  account  of  their  special  nature,  are  given 
in  full. 

CHAIN  OF  ROCKS. 

I. 

Intake  Tower  and  Tunnel. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  consider  the  capacity  of  the  intake  at  the 
lowest  stages  of  the  river,  that  is,  below  a  gauge  reading  of  76  feet.  At 
that  stage  only  four  gates  are  serviceable  for  entry,  one  of  which  is  partly 
out  of  water.  The  total  gate  area  below  the  water  surface  is  65  square 
feet,  which  will  require  an  average  velocity  of  about  3  feet  per  second 
to  supply  120  million  gallons  per  day.  At  a  river  stage  of  74  feet,  only 
45  square  feet  of  gate  area  is  available,  which  will  raise  the  velocity 
almost  to  4  feet  per  second  for  120  million  gallons  consumption.  The 
velocity  of  the  inflowing  water  is  only  interesting  so  far  as  it  affects 


6 


REPORT   OF    THE    WATER    COMMISSIONER 


the  supply  at  times  when  the  river  is  carrying  considerable  amounts 
of  slush  or  frazil  ice.  As  the  screens  are  not  adapted  to  keeping  out 
either,  and  as  it  is  not  practicable  to  provide  screens  that  will  keep  out 
such  ice  and  still  admit  of  the  passage  of  water,  it  is  evident  that  the 
lower  the  velocity  of  the  inflowing  water  can  be  kept,  the  less  ice  will 
be  drawn  into  the  tunnel  and  thence  into  the  wet  well.  During  the 
season  of  ice  formation  the  velocity  is  usually  much  accelerated  over 
the  figures  given  above,  for  the  reason  that  the  openings  in  the  screens 
become  more  or  less  obstructed  by  pieces  of  ice  held  against  them  by 
the  current  and  by  ice  freezing  to  the  screens. 

Each  condition  aggravates  the  other,  the  increase  of  velocity  bring- 
ing more  ice  in  contact  with  and  through  the  screens,  thus  reducing  the 
inlet  area  and  further  tending  to  augment  the  velocity,  until  the  pro- 
portion of  fine  ice  in  suspension  to  the  quantity  of  water  entering, 
becomes  so  great  that  the  pumps  cannot  be  operated.  These  conditions 
have  occurred  in  a  more  or  less  aggravated  degree  every  winter  for  the 
last  nine  or  ten  years.  As  the  daily  consumption  of  water  increases 
from  year  to  year,  it  is  only  natural  that  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  a 
sufficient  supply  of  water  through  the  same  inlet  gates  under  our  worst 
river  conditions  becomes  correspondingly  greater. 

For  eleven  days  in  January,  1912,  it  was  impossible  to  get  more 
than  60  million  gallons  of  water  per  day  with  the  present  facilities. 
This  may  be  taken  as  the  minimum  capacity  of  the  intake  as  it  stands 
today.  When  the  proposed  new  gate  (5'  x  5'),  which  is  contracted  for,  is 
completed,  a  much  larger  amount  can  be  relied  upon  even  under  similar 
conditions  to  those  of  January,  1912.  Leaving  out  of  consideration 
such  critical  conditions  as  those  above  referred  to,  velocities  and  areas 
at  the  intake  at  low  stages  of  the  river  are  as  follows: 


Stage  of 
river 

Port  area 
of  gates 

Million 
gallons 
Pumped 

Veloc 
Feet  p 
Through 
Gates 

Mties  in 
er  Second 
In 
Tunnel 

Loss  of 
Head  in 
Tunnel 

73 
73 
73 

76 
76 
76 

55 
55 
55 

85 
85 

85 

90 
120 
150 
90 
120 
150 

2.5fi 
3.44 
4.27 
1.65 
2.24 
2.77 

3.64 
4.84 
6.04 
3.64 
4.84 
6.04 

1.81 
3.11 
4.68 
1.81 
3.11 
4.68 

The  above  figures  will  be  correct  only  when  gate  openings  and 
tunnel  are  unobstructed.  Some  gates  have  screens  over  them,  which 
cut  down  the  available  area  and  obstruct  the  flow,  so  that  the  actual 
velocity  will  be  much  higher. 

A  more  detailed  discussion  of  the  intake  capacity  is  given  in  Ap- 
pendix "A." 

Rut  regardless  of  the  capacity  of  the  present  intake,  a  city  of  the 
size  of  Saint  Louis  should  not  be  dependent  for  its  entire  water  supply 
upon  one  intake.  Another  ivill  be  built,  after  ivhich  there  will  be  no 
question  as  to  intake  capacity,  even  though  the  present  consumption 
be  doubled. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.     7 

But  there  will  still  remain  the  problem  of  removing  the  ice  from 
the  wet  well  whether  there  are  one  or  two  intakes  and  tunnels.  The 
quantity  of  ice  to  be  removed  will  be  lessened  on  account  of  the  fact 
that  with  two  intakes,  advantage  may  be  taken  of  the  flow  of  ice  in 
the  river,  in  drawing  through  gates  where  floating  ice  is  thinnest,  and 
at  the  tower  where  conditions  are  most  favorable.  The  existing  ice 
elevators  will  be  remodeled,  and  additional  hoisting  machines  kept  in 
reserve  for  emergencies,  so  that  the  well  may  be  kept  clear  under  the 
worst  conditions. 

II. 

Pumps  and  Boilers. 

The  present  equipment  of  pumps  consists  of  four  30  million  gallon 
compound  crank  and  fly-wheel  engines  and  two  40  million  gallon  cen- 
trifugals driven  by  steam  turbines,  giving  a  total  daily  pumping  capacity 
of  200  million  gallons.  The  working  capacity  of  this  station,  by  which 
is  meant  the  actual  quantity  of  water  which  could  be  pumped  con- 
tinuously, does  not  exceed  125  million  gallons.  This  amount  is  arrived 
at  by  assuming  that  the  two  centrifugals  and  two  of  the  compound 
engines  can  be  operated  continuously,  rating  the  centrifugals  at  35  mil- 
lions each  and  the  others  at  27  y2  millions  each,  allowing  in  the  first  case 
for  a  low  river  stage  and  in  the  second  for  slip  of  pumps.  If  we  assume 
that  three  compound  engines  and  one  centrifugal  can  be  operated  con- 
tinuously, 120  million  gallons  will  represent  the  working  capacity.  In 
times  of  emergency  it  will  be  possible  to  pump  slightly  more  than  150 
million  gallons  per  day  for  a  few  days  continuously,  but  it  seems  a  fair 
estimate  to  say  that  the  working  capacity  of  this  station  does  not  exceed 
125  millions.  There  are  eight  water  tube  boilers  of  300  H.  P.  each,  which 
will  easily  supply  steam  for  five  of  the  six  pumping  engines  running  at 
the  same  time. 

III. 

Coagulant  Plant  and  Settling  Basins. 

The  coagulant  plant  is  of  sufficient  capacity  to  supply  chemicals  for 
the  treatment  of  160  million  gallons  daily. 

The  settling  basins  operating  under  normal  conditions,  that  is  when 
the  river  water  is  of  the  average  quality  and  when  the  basins  can  be  regu- 
larly cleaned,  have  a  working  capacity  no  greater  than  100  million  gal- 
lons per  day,  but  under  severe  conditions  not  more  than  75  millions  can 
be  properly  purified.  Changes  now  being  made  and  which  will  be  com- 
pleted this  year  will  increase  their  capacity,  normally  to  perhaps  120 
millions  daily,  and  under  the  worst  conditions  to  probably  a  little  more 
than  90  millions.  No  further  increase  can  be  made  in  clarification  ca- 
pacity with  the  present  eight  basins,  whose  storage  capacity  totals  250 
million  gallons,  and  whose  working  capacity  cannot  be  placed  at  more 
than  100  million  gallons  daily. 


8  REPOKT  OF    THE    WATER   COMMISSIONER 

IV. 
Conduits. 

Two  conduits  curry  the  water  from  the  ('haiii  of  Rocks  to  Baden 
Pumping  Station.  One  is  of  masonry.  9'xll'  horse-shoe  shaped,  and 
one  of  riveted  steel  pipe  84"  in  diameter.  Each  has  a  fall  of  1  in  10,000. 
The  steel  pipe  may  be  operated  under  a  head  of  ten  feet,  but  it  would 
not  be  safe  to  operate  the  masonry  conduit  under  more  than  a  two-foot 
head,  and  even  this  could  not  be  done  without  making  some  changes  in 
its  const  ruction. 

The  masonry  conduit  has  a  carrying  capacity  of  .120  million  gallons 
per  day  and  the  steel  pipe  60  millions. 

From  Baden  to  Bissell's  Point  there  is  only  one  conduit  of  masonry 
8'x9',  of  horse-shoe  shape  and  with  a  carrying  capacity  of  100  millions. 

BADEN  PUMPING  STATION. 
I. 

Storage. 

There  is  one  concrete  storage  basin  holding  25  million  gallons. 

II. 
Pumps  and  Boilers. 

There  are  six  triple  expansion  crank-and-fly-wheel  pumps,  four  of 
which  are  rated  at  15  million  gallons  each,  and  two  at  10  million  each, 
making  a  total  of  80  million  gallons  per  day.  The  working  capacity  of 
this  station  does  not  exceed  50  million  gallons,  based  on  the  continuous 
operation  of  four  pumps,  and  allowing  for  slip. 

There  are  eight  water  tube  boilers  at  this  station  of  350  II.  P.  each, 
giving  ample  capacity  for  the  operation  of  five  pumps,  which  are  oc- 
casionally in  service  for  short  periods  of  time. 

This  station  supplies  water  to  a  large  and  rapidly  increasing  district, 
embracing  the  higher  levels  of  the  city.  The  water  pressure  is  125 
pounds,  and  great  difficulty  is  experienced  in  maintaining  this  pressure 
on  account  of  the  large  consumption  during  the  extremes  of  weather. 
One  of  the  new  20  million  gallon  pumps  under  contract  for  installation 
at  Bissell's  Point,  will  be  placed  on  this  service  to  meet  the  increasing 
consumption. 

BISSELL'S  POINT  PUMPING  STATION. 

I. 

Storage. 
There  are  four  storage  basins  holding  a  total  of  50  million  gallons. 

II. 

No.  1  Engine  House. 

There  are  three  20  million,  triple  expansion  crank  and  fly-wheel 
engines  in  this  house,  supplied  with  steam  from  four  300  H.  P.  water 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.     9 

•    

tube  boilers.     The  working  capacity  of  this  house  does  not  exceed  38 
million  gallons  daily,  assuming  the  continuous  operation  of  two  pumps. 

No.  2  Engine  House. 

This  engine  house  at  present  has  two  Cornish  walking  beam  engines 
built  in  1887  of  a  capacity  of  16  million  gallons  each.  There  are  four 
350  H.  P.  boilers  which  are  more  than  sufficient  to  furnish  steam  for  these 
engines,  but  hardly  with  enough  capacity  for  operating  two  new  20  mil- 
lion triple  expansion  engines  now  under  contract  to  be  installed  in  this 
building. 

The  working  capacity  of  the  Bissell's  Point  Station  at  present  can- 
not be  placed  higher  than  55  million  gallons  per  day.  As  soon  as  the 
two  new  triple  expansion  pumps  are  installed,  which  will  be  before  May 
1st.  1913,  the  working  capacity  of  this  station  will  be  75  millions. 

SUMMARY  OF  DAILY  WORKING  CAPACITIES. 

Intake  (one  tower  only) 120,000,000 

Pumps  at  Chain  of  Rocks 125,000,000 

Coagulant  House  160,000,000 

Clarification    capacity 100,000,000 

Conduit  capacity  220,000,000 

High  Service  Pumping  Capacity 125,000,000 

For  reasons  which  will  be  brought  out  later,  the  above  system  should 
be  enlarged  to  a  working  capacity  of  150  millions  daily  and  rehabilitated 
so  that  its  life  and  usefulness  shall  be  extended  at  least  until  the  year 
1935.  The  additions  and  changes  necessary  for  this  may  be  tabulated  as 
follows : 

New  Intake  Tower  and  Tunnel $  550,000 

Revetment  of  2  miles  of  River  Bank 200,000 

One  40  million  gallon  Pump  at  Chain  of  Rocks 40,000 

Six  300  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Chain  of  Rocks 45,000 

Two  Triple  Expansion  Pumps  at  Bissell's  Point 220,000 

New  Basins  or  Filter  Plant 1,250,000 

New  Conduit  from  Baden  to  Bissell's  Point 300,000 

Pump  Main  from  Bissell's  Point  to  Magnolia  Avenue 455,000 

Two  350  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Bissell's  Point....  15,000 


Total    > $3,075,000 

This  brings  us  down  to  the  pump  mains  feeding  the  distribution  sys- 
tem which  will  now  be  considered. 

PUMP  MAINS. 

Four  mains  provide  the  outlet  for  the  pumps  at  Baden.  Three  of 
these  are  36"  in  diameter  and  one  30".  The  length  of  these  mains  before 
reaching  any  distributing  pipe  of  consequence  is  as  follows : 

Goodfellow  Main  36"  3.88  Miles 

Union  Ave.  Main  30"  3.10  Miles 

Kingshighway  Main  36"  3.25  Miles 

Warne  Ave.  Main  ..-36"  8.20  Miles 

With  50  million  gallons  being  pumped  at  Baden,  if  we  consider  the 
\v;iler  distributed  among  these  mains,  according  to  their  respective  ca- 
pacities, the  friction  loss  amounts  to  7.1  feet  per  mile  in  each  case. 

With  65  millions  pumped 11.0  ft.  per  mile 

With  70  millions  pumped 12.7  ft.  per  mile 


10  REPORT   OF    THE    WATER   COMMISSIONER 


These  latter  cases  occur  for  short  periods  only  to  meet  the  hours  of 
excessive  draught.  As  there  is  no  intention  of  increasing  the  pumping 
capacity  at  this  station,  the  above  mentioned  mains  will  need  no  rein- 
forcement. 

There  are  six  36"  pump  mains  leading  out  of  the  Bissell's  Point  Sta- 
tion, all  of  which  are  inter-connected  and  tapped  by  distribution  pipes  at 
relatively  short  distances  from  the  station.  These  afford  sufficient  out- 
let capacity  for  the  present  pumps  and  for  the  additional  two  new  engines 
under  contract.  But  .when  two  more  are  added  bringing  the  working 
capacity  of  the  station  to  100  million  gallons  per  day,  another  36"  pump 
main  will  have  to  be  laid  southwestwardly  and  over  Jefferson  Avenue  to 
Magnolia,  there  being  reduced  to  20"  as  far  as  Winnebago  Street.  Sev- 
eral connecting  lines  will  have  to  be  laid  to  tie  up  with  the  existing  high 
service  mains. 

DISTRIBUTION  SYSTEM. 

The  Distribution  System  is  divided  into  two  parts,  viz:  the  high 
pressure  district  and  the  low  pressure  district.  The  pipes  of  both  dis- 
tricts are  inter-connected  throughout,  and  the  boundaries  of  either  may 
be  changed  at  will.  Baden  Pumping  Station  supplies  the  high  pressure 
district  and  Bissell's  Point  the  low.  The  water  pressure  at  the  Baden 
Station  is  125  Ibs.  per  square  inch,  and  at  Bissell  's  Point  85  Ibs. 

This  system,  as  it  will  be  when  present  contracts  are  completed,  will 
stand  still  further  additions  even  to  properly  distribute  the  water  which 
the  present  pumping  plant  can  deliver  to  it.  The  straightforward  flow 
is  impeded  and  forced  by  circuitous  routes  to  find  its  way  to  many  sec- 
tions of  the  city.  Among  the  lines  of  pipe  that  should  be  laid  are  the  fol- 
lowing : 

On  Kingshighway  from  Natural  Bridge  Road  to  Clayton  Road. 
From  Sulphur  Ave.  and  Manchester  over  Sublette  and  Old  Manchester  to 
Woods  Ave.— 30". 

From  Gravois  and  Gustine  to  Fyler  and  Ivanhoe — 20". 

Street.                                                               Length.  Size.  Cost. 

Kingshighway  Mam  16,745  ft.  30"  $165  000  00 

Sulphur  Ave.  Main  9,090  ft.  30"  85,000.00 

Gravois  Ave.  Main  ..                                         17,575  ft.  20"  88,000.00 

When  the  working  capacity  of  the  plant  is  brought  up  to  150  mil- 
lion gallons  per  day,  the  following  lines  will  be  needed:  a  36"  pump 
main  from  Bissell's  Point  southwestwardly  and  over  Jefferson  Avenue 
to  Magnolia  Avenue,  thence  to  Meramec  Street  and  Nebraska  Avenue; 
also  a  main  on  Lynch  Street  from  Jefferson  Avenue  to  Magnolia  and 
Nebraska  Avenues : 

-Street-A  Length.  Size.  Cost. 

T  ^Ve'  ™a,in                                              -.29,600  ft  36"  $400,000.00 

Magnolia  Ave.  Main  10,350ft.  20"  52,000.00 

..  2,000  ft.  20"  10,000.00 

Under  normal  conditions  of  consumption  the  pressures  over  the  city 
run  from  15  to  100  Ibs.  per  square  inch.  The  lower  pressures  will  be 


TO   THE  BOARD   OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.          \\ 

considerably  improved  by  proper  extension  of  the  distribution  mains. 
During  times  of  excessive  consumption  the  pressures  in  a  number  of  dis- 
tricts of  comparatively  small  area  drop  below  10  Ibs.,  and  in  some  cases 
become  practically  nothing.  The  localities  which  suffer  most  severely 
are  around  Old  Manchester  and  Dalton  Avenue,  Gravois  and  Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue,  Nebraska  and  Neosho  Street,  Shenandoah  and  Louisiana 
Avenues. 

An  increase  of  distribution  facilities  as  outlined  above  will  ma- 
terially lessen  the  troubles  at  these  points.  With  the  new  pumps  at  Bis- 
sell's  Point  in  operation,  the  boundaries  of  the  high  pressure  district  will 
gradually  be  extended  to  take  in  many  places  which  are  at  present  sup- 
plied from  the  low  pressure  mains. 

CONSUMPTION. 

Practically  the  entire  population  of  Saint  Louis,  estimated  now  at 
710,000,  is  supplied  with  water  by  the  water  works.  There  are  107,500 
service  connections  to  the  mains,  7,200  of  which  are  metered.  The 
average  daily  pumping  for  the  year  ending  April  1st,  1912,  was  83.6 
million  gallons;  maximum  for  one  day  (July  5th)  108.7  millions,  or 
more  than  150  gallons  per  capita.  During  the  month  of  August,  1912, 
the  average  daily  pumping  was  92.4  millions,  and  for  one  week  in  Sep- 
tember, 1912,  the  average  was  107  millions;  the  highest  for  one  day 
being  112  millions. 

The«  daily  working  capacity  should  not  be  allowed  to  fall  below 
1  1/3  times  the  average  daily  consumption,  in  order  to  meet  these  ab- 
normal demands  and  to  allow  sufficient  reserve  in  case  of  accidents. 

At  the  Chain  of  Rocks  the  average  daily  pumping  is  much  greater 
than  that  of  both  of  the  high  service  stations  at  Baden  and  Bissell's 
Point,  being  98.5  million  gallons  for  the  year  ending  April  1st,  1912, 
and  92.9  for  the  year  immediately  preceding.  This  increase  is  accounted 
for  by  the  use  of  water  in  cleaning  basins  and  conduits,  plunger  leakage, 
loss  in  emptying  basins  and  leakage  in  basins  and  conduits;  hence  the 
working  capacity  of  the  plant  at  Chain  of  Rocks  must  be  at  least  15 
per  cent  greater  than  that  of  the  high  service  stations  combined. 

Consumption  curves  estimated  with  and  without  meters  and  curves 
of  population  are  shown  on  charts  Nos.  1  and  3.  These  curves  would 
indicate  that  in  1923  the  average  daily  consumption  without  meters 
would  reach  113  millions  with  a  population  of  843,000,  and  that  the  pro- 
posed increase  of  the  present  works  to  the  working  capactiy  of  150  mil- 
lions per  day  would  suffice  the  City  of  Saint  Louis  scarcely  longer  than 
1923,  assuming  the  normal  increase  in  population,  without  endeavoring 
to  decrease  the  per  capita  consumption  by  closer  inspection,  meters  and 
otherwise. 

The  present  situation  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 

The  present  average  daily  consumption  is  about  85  millions,  while 
the  working  capacity  of  the  Chain  of  Rocks  Station,  upon  which  the 


12 


REPORT  OF  TUP:  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


POPULATION  CURVES  FOR  ST  LOUIS 


2.000PO* 


»tO     SO       40         50        60         TO        60         «?0        1900       10 


CHART  NO.l 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


13 


CHART   N03 


gQQ 


I8ZO      SO 


5O         6O 


14  REPORT   OF    THE    WATER   COMMISSIONER 

reliance  for  the  total  supply  rests,  is  limited  to  100  million  gallons  daily, 
which  limit  is  fixed  by  the  capacity  of  the  purification  facilities.  As 
before  stated,  under  the  most  severe  conditions  this  limit  may  fall  be- 
low DO  millions.  During  the  summer  of  1911  for  more  than  30  days, 
the  quality  and  condition  of  the  river  water  was  such  that  not  more 
than  75  million  gallons  could  be  properly  clarified.  When  the  changes 
in  the  basins  now  under  way  are  completed,  it  is  expected  that  the 
capacity  for  clarification  will  be  increased  20  per  cent,  which  would 
allow  for  90  million  gallons  per  day  under  the  river  conditions  of  last 
year,  or  only  5  million  gallons  more  than  the  present  average  consump- 
tion. So  that  it  is  almost  certain  that  the  people  of  Saint  Louis  will 
be  obliged  occasionally  to  suffer  the  inconvenience  of  using  water  only 
partially  clarified,  while  the  present  plant  is  being  enlarged  and  recon- 
structed to  a  proper  capacity  to  supply  the  demands  made  upon  it. 
These  periods  may  be  few  in  number  and  short  in  duration,  or  the  situ- 
ation may  develop  into  positive  discomfort  carrying  with  it  a  possible 
menace  to  the  public  health.  Such  possibilities  are  dependent  upon 
matters  over  which  human  ingenuity  can  exercise  no  control,  viz:  gen- 
eral weather  conditions,  stage  of  the  river  and  the  quality  and  condition 
of  the  river  water. 

INCREASE  OF  THE  CAPACITY. 

.Obviously  the  first  question  that  suggests  itself  is  to  what  limit 
should  the  capacity  of  the  Chain  of  Rocks  plant  be  increased?  I  have 
set  the  figure  at  a  working  capacity  of  150  million  gallons  per  day  for 
the  following  reasons: 

1.  This  will  allow  sufficient  capacity  to  supply  the  City  of  Saint 
Louis  within  its  present  limits  until  the  year  1923,  without  entailing  the 
expense  of  other  buildings  at  the  high  service  stations  or  any  great  in- 
crease in  distribution  mains. 

2.  To  attempt  to  enlarge  the  entire  plant  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks 
to  a  greater  daily  capacity  than  150  million  gallons  would  mean  not 
alone  the  additions  to  the  purification  system,  but  also  the  duplication 
of  the  present  engine  and  boiler  houses  and  another  coagulant  house 
and  add  greatly  to  the  cost  of  operation.     It  would  also  involve  large 
increases  in  buildings  at  the  high  service  stations  and  new  pump  mains. 

To  propose  the  extension  of  the  purification  system  to  a  daily 
capacity  less  than  150  millions  would  not  proportionately  lessen  the 
cost  of  the  work,  and  would  bring  the  date  much  closer  to  us  when 
further  provisions  for  water  supply  would  have  to  be  made. 

4.  The  day  is  not  far  distant  when  the  present  city  limits  will 
be  extended  and  some  portion  of  the  county  taken  in,  and  the  Chain 
of  Rocks  Station  is  not  located  so  as  to  economically  supply  water  west 
and  southwest  from  the  present  limits.  Also  the  extension  of  our  mains 
into  the  county  would  require  an  entire  remodeling  of  the  distribution 
system  at  a  tremendous  cost. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.    15 

5.  Increasing  the  daily  working  capacity  of  the  present  water 
works  to  150  million  gallons  will  allow  ample  time  to  consider  the  ques- 
tion of  building  new  water  works  to  supply  the  city  before  and  after 
its  limits  are  extended,  to  locate  such  works,  provide  the  funds  and 
complete  the  construction  before  any  danger  of  a  water  famine  can 
arise. 

The  Chain  of  Rocks  location  for  water  works  at  the  present  time 
is  not  nearly  so  desirable  as  it  seemed  to  be  twenty-five  years  ago.  As 
is  clearly  shown  in  Appendix  "B"  of  this  report,  the  quality  of  the 
water  obtainable  there  requires  expensive  treatment  for  purification, 
is  difficult  to  handle  at  certain  times,  and  necessitates  double  pumping 
at  all  times.  The  lay  of  the  land  is  not  favorable  to  the  construction 
of  another  plant  to  bring  the  capacity  up  to  300  millions  per  day.  There 
is  not  sufficient  room  to  do  this  without  stringing  out  buildings  and  basins 
for  over  a  mile  along  the  river  front.  All  of  the  conduits  carrying 
the  supply  to  the  city  must  be  located  on  the  narrow  strip  between 
the  river  and  the  bluffs,  which  is  now  in  one  place  less  than  300'  wide. 
The  land  on  which  basins  and  conduits  must  be  built  is  treacherous 
ground,  making  construction  both  difficult  and  expensive.  After 
thorough  study  of  the  subject,  all  consideration  of  the  proposition  to 
double  the  capacity  of  the  Chain  of  Rocks  plant  was  dropped. 

Surveys  and  soundings  of  the  Missouri  River  above  St.  Charles,  were 
made  this  summer,  and  a  suitable  location  found  about  nine  miles  above 
St.  Charles.  The  purification  plant  and  reservoirs  can  be  located  near 
Stratman's  on  the  Olive  Street  Road,  about  seven  miles  from  the  City 
limits,  from  which  water  can  be  delivered  by  gravity  at  the  city  limits 
at  the  same  pressure  we  now  have  in  the  high  pressure  pipes.  In  Ap- 
pendix "A"  will  be  found  estimates  of  the  cost  of  building  a  new 
plant  at  this  location.  These  estimates  can  only  be  considered  as  ap- 
proximations, but  it  is  believed  that  they  will  not  be  far  from  actual  costs 
when  the  question  is  taken  up  in  detail. 

If  the  daily  working  capacity  of  the  present  works  should  be  in- 
creased to  150  million  gallons,  the  only  part  of  the  present  system 
which  requires  special  consideration  is  the  clarification  process.  Boilers, 
engines,  mains,  etc.,  can  be  increased  without  adding  anything  in  the 
way  of  new  buildings  or  special  construction  of  any  kind.  But  the 
purification  of  the  water  is  a  matter  that  requires  serious  investiga- 
tion. It  is  at  present  by  far  the  weakest  link  in  the  chain,  not  only 
as  regards  plant  capacity,  but  on  account  of  other  grave  considerations. 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  in  this  report  that  the  capacity  for 
clarification  with  the  changed  basins,  may,  on  account  of  difficult  con- 
ditions, be  less  than  90  million  gallons  per  day.  The  average  daily 
consumption  this  year  will  probably  exceed  85  millions.  On  account 
of  water  used  in  cleaning  and  flushing  basins,  leaks  in  basins,  evapora- 
tion, and  other  undiscovered  losses,  the  quantity  of  water  pumped  daily 
by  the  Chain  of  Rocks  station  last  year  averaged  98  millions.  This 


16  REPORT   OF   THE    WATKR   COMMISSIONER 

amount  of  water  was  treated  with  lime  and  iron  sulphate,  and  all  figures 
on  the  capacity  for  clarification  are  based  on  the  Cham  of  Rocks  pumping 
records  and  not  those  of  the  high  service  stations.  Ft  is  evident  that  the 
present  consumption  is  fully  up  to  the  capacity,  and  any  increase  in  con- 
sumption means  less  efficient  clarification.  Without  any  regard  what- 
ever to  the  deficiencies  or  unbalanced  portions  of  other  divisions  of  the 
water  works,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  tin  purification  capacity  be 
increased  without  delay.  It  is  fully  as  important  as  the  necessity  for  a 
new  intake.  Before  two  years  have  elapsed  there  must  be  a  great  in- 
crease in  purification  capacity  or  Saint  Louis  will  have  to  put  up  with 
water  insufficiently  clarified  and  more  or  less  impure. 

The  first  idea  for  increasing  the  capacity  for  purification  would  nat- 
urally he  to  extend  the  present  system  by  building  more  basins. 

For  the  first  four  years  after  the  inauguration  of  the  purification 
process,  only  the  six  basins  originally  built  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks  were 
used  for  clarification,  but  it  was  evident  their  capacity  was  too  small. 
In  1908,  two  new  basins  were  completed,  adding  75  million  gallons 
to  the  storage  at  the  Chain.  These  basins  cost  about  $525,000.00.  Now, 
four  years  later,  we  again  find  ourselves  up  to  the  clarification  capacity. 
It  is  impracticable  because  of  their  location  to  add  more  basins  to  be  used 
in  series  with  these.  In  order  to  increase  the  capacity  to  150  million 
gallons  per  day,  it  will  be  necessary  to  build  an  independent  set  of  basins 
with  a  daily  working  capacity  of  60  million  gallons.  These  basins  can 
only  be  built  south  of  the  present  ones,  fully  half  a  mile  from  the  pump- 
ing station,  making  them  rather  inconvenient  of  operation.  These  basins 
with  all  connections,  gates,  etc.,  will  cost  not  less  than  $1,250.000.00,  and 
the  operating  cost  of  the  system  per  million  gallons  will  probably  be  no 
less  than  at  present.  But  there  is  another  question  in  regard  to  this 
purification  process,  which  has,  since  its  inauguration  in  1904.  obtruded 
itself  into  the  minds  of  all  who  have  been  connected  with  the  work.  In 
spite  of  the  strong  bias  in  favor  of  a  process  first  tried  out  here  on  a 
large  scale  for  water  purification,  and  which  has  been  studied  and 
amplified  and  improved  upon  for  eight  years,  this  question  has  often 
forced  itself  forward :  is  the  Saint  Louis  process  as  efficient  as  filtra- 
tion ?  Most  of  us  have  at  one  time  or  another  believed  and  strenuously 
argued  that  it  was  as  good  or  better.  But  some  of  the  difficulties  and 
objections  to  the  Saint  Louis  process  which  were  patent  from  the  first, 
and  others  which  came  up  later,  and  all  of  which  we  confidently  expected 
to  remedy  or  overcome,  are  still  with  us.  The  insistent  question  of  ef- 
ficiency still  stares  us  in  the  face,  and  reluctant  as  we  are  to  confess 
even  doubt  on  the  subject,  there  is  not  one  who  has  been  in  close 
touch  with  the  work  in  detail,  but  is  ready  to  admit  that  the  Saint  Louis 
process  of  water  purification  is  not  as  effective  as  filtration.  And  then 
to  make  the  case  for  filters  still  stronger,  figures  and  facts  showing  that 
the  filtration  is  cheaper,  both  as  to  construction  and  in  the  matter  of  op- 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.    17 

crating  costs  are  presented  for  our  consideration.  This  being  true,  there 
is  left  no  argument  for  the  perpetuation  of  the  Saint  Louis  process. 

In  the  appendices  to  this  report  will  be  found  estimates  of  the  cost 
of  new  basins  for  clarification,  the  cost  of  constructing  filters,  and  the 
operating  expense  in  each  case. 

With  the  working  capacity  of  the  present  water  works  brought 
up  to  150  million  gallons  daily,  all  of  the  territory  within  the  present 
limits  could  be  taken  care  of  until  1923.  At  a  per  capita  consumption 
of  135  gallons  per  day,  a  population  of  850,000  could  be  supplied. 

The  present  per  capita  consumption  is  120  gallons.  It  has  been  the 
experience  of  all  American  cities  that  the  per  capita  consumption  in- 
creases year  by  year  with  the  city's  growth.  Our  per  capita  consump- 
tion is  not  exactly  high,  but  is  increasing,  as  the  following  figures 
show : 

Year  Ending  Million  Gals.        Gals.   Per 

April  1st.  Population.  Per  Day.  Capita. 

1906  ....632,500  72.1  114.0 

1907  644,000  70.4  109.3 

1908  655,500  69.2  105.5 

1909  667,000  69.3  104.0 

1910  678,500  73.7  108.6 

1911  690,000  76.5  111.0 

1912  705,000  83.5  118.4 

The  per  capita  consumption  for  other  cities,  taken  from  the  latest 
available  data,  is  as  follows: 

Gallons.  Gallons. 

New  York  : Ill      Milwaukee 99 

Philadelphia  203      Cleveland 101 

Pittsburg  208      Minneapolis    60 

Boston  t 128      Columbus,  0 78 

Washington 178      Providence,  R.  1 73 

Chicago 238      New  Orleans 78 

Buffalo  317      St.  Paul 62 

Of  these  cities  Cleveland,  Milwaukee,  Columbus,  Minneapolis,  Provi- 
dence, New  Orleans  and  St.  Paul  have  the  majority  of  their  services 
metered,  which  accounts  for  their  low  per  capita  rate.  In  all  of  the 
others  the  water  works  officials  strongly  advocate  the  installation  of 
meters.  The  increase  in  water  consumption  under  flat  rates  has  become 
so  alarming  that  in  all  our  large  cities  there  has  been  issued  a  protest 
against  waste,  and  a  warning  of  certain  disaster  unless  remedial  measures 
are  at  once  applied. 

New  York  has  issued  a  pamphlet  to  its  citizens,  showing  the  tre- 
mendous loss  due  to  waste  and  small  leaks. 

Philadelphia  has  recently  held  an  exhibition  solely  for  the  purpose 
of  educating  its  people  in  the  use  and  waste  of  water,  in  the  hope  that 
ocular  demonstration  of  the  losses  from  small  leaks  might  assist  the 
Water  Department  in  its  efforts  to  reduce  consumption. 

The  twin  questions  of  the  purification  of  the  water  supplies  and 


18  REPORT   OF   THE    WATER   COMMISSIONER 


the  restriction  of  such  supplies  to  proper  and  legitimate  uses  are  rapidly 
becoming  the  foremost  engineering  problems  of  our  municipalities. 
While  these  problems  in  Saint  Louis  have  not  reached  the  acute  stage 
that  prevails  in  some  other  cities,  yet  we  are  swiftly  approaching  the 
danger  line  and  it  behooves  us  to  act  now  while  there  is  yet  time  to  avoid 
serious  trouble. 

In  my  opinion  it  will  not  be  possible  to  reduce  the  daily  per  capita 
consumption  for  any  great  length  of  time  in  this  city  below  100  gallons. 

The  experience  of  other  cities  has  shown  that  after  meters  are  in- 
stalled the  per  capita  consumption  still  increases,  but  not  nearly  so  rap- 
idly as  under  a  flat  rate.  Meters  will  reduce  waste  and  leakage,  but  will 
not  entirely  eliminate  them.  For  a  few  years  after  meters  are  installed 
a  most  gratifying  decrease  in  consumption  is  observed,  but  it  gradually 
creeps  up,  as  in  the  cases  of  Milwaukee  and  Cleveland,  which  after  nine 
or  ten  years  reached  their  former  per  capita  figure. 

Many  cities  suffer  heavy  losses  from  underground  leaks,  notably  the 
City  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  where  a  total  of  over  27  million  gallons  per 
day  was  located  and  stopped  during  some  five  years  of  investigation 
with  pitometers. 

Pitometer  surveys  have  been  made  in  some  portions  of  this  city 
where  mains  are  oldest  and  where  naturally  the  greatest  underground 
losses  would  be  expected.  No  serious  loss  has  anywhere  been  discovered, 
from  which  it  seems  safe  to  conclude  that  only  a  small  percentage  of  the 
water  pumped,  certainly  not  more  than  5  per  cent,  could  be  charged  to 
underground  losses. 

It  is  during  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  that  the  greatest  drain  is 
made  on  our  resources.  In  both  cases  last  year  the  per  capita  ran  above 
150.  In  the  summer  when  this  occurred  fully  40  per  cent  of  this  con- 
sumption was  pure  waste,  and  in  the  winter  at  least  60  per  cent  could 
be  assigned  to  the  same  cause.  It  is  these  peak  demands  that  increase 
the  average  per  capita,  and  which  would  be  greatly  decreased  by  the  use 
of  meters. 

Waste  can  only  be  permanently  restricted  by  the  use  of  meters. 
House-to-house  inspection  is  efficient  only  so  long  as  it  is  closely  and 
carefully  kept  up. 

There  are  few  organizations  that  can  be  constantly  kept  up  to  a 
high  standard  of  efficiency,  especially  through  changes  in  administration. 
The  well-nigh  impossible  task  of  doing  this,  coupled  with  the  heavy  ex- 
pense of  maintaining  a  well-organized  inspection  bureau,  prevents  its 
being  depended  upon  as  a  practicable  scheme  for  restricting  waste  and 
leakage. 

A  still  stronger  argument  for  the  general  use  of  meters  lies  in  the 
fact  that  it  is  only  by  measuring  the  quantity  used  by  each  consumer 
that  an  equitable  adjustment  of  rates  can  be  made.  Also  it  is  only 
through  the  measurement  of  the  various  classes  of  consumption  that  a 


TO   THE  BOARD   OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.          19 

definite  knowledge  of  what  becomes  of  the  water  pumped  may  be  had, 
and  having  such  knowledge,  the  road  to  proper  economic  measures  may 
be  made  plain. 

In  Appendix  "C"  will  be  found  a  detailed  estimate  of  the  cost 
of  installing  and  maintaining  meters,  also  the  results  of  observations 
made  to  determine  consumption  in  various  districts,  and  the  relative  costs 
of  extending  the  works  with  and  without  meters. 

The  question  of  properly  adjusted  water  rates  is  so  closely  allied 
to  the  subject  of  costs  of  operation,  maintenance  and  extension  that  it 
is  fully  discussed  in  Appendix  "D." 

In  undertaking  the  task  of  building  water  works  for  a  growing  city 
of  over  a  million  inhabitants  (which  St.  Louis  will  have  by  1935),  it 
would  be  rank  folly  to  design  -a  plant  whose  capacity  should  not  meet  the 
demands  of  the  city  for  at  least  25  years  longer,  or  until  1960.  To  do 
this,  provision  for  a  supply  of  not  less  than  300  million  gallons  of  water 
per  day  should  be  made,  unless  measures  are  taken  to  meter  all  con- 
sumers. 

If  this  seems  large,  it  is  only  necessary,  to  call  attention  to  the 
amount  of  water  pumped  daily  by  New  York,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  Bos- 
ton, Pittsburg  and  Buffalo  at  the  present  time : 

Daily  Consumption 

Population.  Gallons. 

New   York   4,767,000  529,600,000 

Chicago  2,185,000  520,000,000 

Philadelphia    1,599,000  324,600,000 

Boston  674,400  86,300,000 

Pittsburg    363,000  75,500,000 

Washington  340,000  60,380,000 

Buffalo  423,700  134,300,000 

This  does  not  mean  that  water  works  must  be  built  and  completed 
to  that  capacity  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Only  certain  parts  of  the  system 
would  have  to  be  of  the  full  capacity ;  by  far  the  greater  portions  would 
be  so  constructed  that  additions  could  be  made  from  time  to  time  as 
necessity  demanded.  The  following  solutions  of  the  problem  suggest 
themselves : 

1.  To  reduce  consumption  by  the  rapid  installation  of  meters,  bring 
the  present  plant  up  to  a  working  capacity  of  150  million  gallons  per 
day,  issue  bonds  in  1927  for  the  building  of  new  water  works  on  the 
Missouri  River  above  St.  Charles  at  a  cost  of  about  $11,000,000. 

2.  To  reduce  consumption  by  the  rapid  installation  of  meters,  issue 
bonds  in  1914  for  the  building  of  the  Missouri  River  works  at  the  initial 
cost  of  $12,000,000,  to  be  followed  in  1935  by  a  second  bond  issue  of 
$8,000,000  and  the  final  abandonment  of  the  present  works  about  1940. 

3.  To  bring  the  present  plant  up  to  a  working  capacity  of  150 
million  gallons  per  day,  issue  bonds  in  1914  for  new  works  on  the  Mis- 
souri River  at  a  first  cost  of  $12,000,000,  to  be  followed  in  1937  by  an 


20  REPORT   OF    THE    WATER   COMMISSIONER 


additional  issue  of  $8.000,000  in  bonds  to  increase  the  capacity  of  the 
Missouri  River  works,  while  still  keeping  the  present  works  in  service. 

In  Appendix  "C"  will  he  found  estimates  in  detail  showing  the 
costs  of  the  above  propositions  until  the  year  I960,  including  replace- 
ments, differences  in  operating  costs,  and  interest  on  money  invested.  In- 
terest has  been  calculated  at  3  per  cent,  which  is  probably  too  low,  but  a 
higher  rate  will  make  the  results  still  more  favorable  to  Proposition  1, 
which  the  estimates  show  will  cost  $9,000,000  less  than  Proposition  2,  and 
over  $12.000.000  less  than  Proposition  3. 

Estimates  on  these  propositions  have  been  carried  to  the  year  1960, 
because  the  ultimate  value  of  each  could  not  be  shown  in  a  shorter 
period.  In  1935  there  is  not  a  great  difference  in  the  total  expenditures 
for  each,  but  both  Propositions  1  and  3  show  a  decided  advantage  over 
Proposition  2  in  the  condition  and  capacity  of  the  works  at  that  date. 

In  Appendix  "H"  will  be  found  an  exhaustive  discussion  of  the 
quality  of  the  water  taken  from  the  Mississippi  River  at  the  Chain  of 
Rocks,  its  present  treatment,  cost  of  a  proposed  change  to  mechanical 
filtration,  the  quality  of  Missouri  River  water,  its  characteristics  and 
proper  treatment,  and  comparative  figures  on  the  cost  of  treatment  by  the 
present  process  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks,  on  the  cost  of  filtration  at  the 
Chain  of  Rocks  and  on  the  probable  cost  of  filtering  the  Missouri  River 
water.  Attention  is  particularly  called  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  present 
process  for  color  removal,  the  irregularity  in  results,  and  the  practical 
impossibility  of  quick  control  over  operating  conditions. 

Appendix  "A"  gives  estimates  for  constructing  additional  basins 
to  increase  the  clarification  capacity  by  the  present  process  to  150  million 
gallons  per  day,  the  operating  cost  per  million  gallons  remaining  about 
the  same. 

The  estimated  construction  cost  of  new  basins  and  that  of  filters  is 
almost  the  same,  while  the  figures  for  operating  costs  are  favorable  to  the 
filters.  The  quality  of  water  furnished  from  filters  will  unquestionably 
be  very  much  superior,  both  from  an  aesthetic  and  hygienic  standpoint. 

If  it  were  possible  to  handle  the  question  of  the  water  supply  of  the 
City  of  Saint  Louis,  as  it  would  be  handled  by  a  private  corporation, 
without  long  delays  and  much  wrangling  over  the  details,  the  most 
economical  solution  of  the  problem  would  be  as  follows : 

Install  meters  as  rapidly  as  possible,  supply  the  city  with  water 
from  the  present  works  in  their  present  condition  (existing  contracts 
and  improvements  already  under  way  to  be  completed),  and  proceed 
rapidly  to  construct  new  works  on  the  Missouri  River,  so  that  100  million 
gallons  per  day  could  be  supplied  from  there  in  1918.  Then  continue  to 
operate  the  present  plant  to  furnish  a  supply  of  60  million  gallons  per 
day. 

The  present  plant  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks  could  be  depended  upon  for 
furnishing  a  daily  supply  of  60  million  gallons  of  water  of  a  degree  of 
clarity  and  purity  practically  as  good  as  the  output  of  a  filter  plant. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.    21 


The  expenditures  necessary  for  carrying  out  this  plan  would  he  as 
follows : 

Cost  of  Meters  and  Maintenance  up  to  April  1,  1936 $  6,531,578.50 

Eight  350  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Baden  installed  in  1920 70,000.00 

Six  350  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Chain  of  Rocks  installed  in  1920 45,000.00 

Four  350  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Bissell's  Point  No.  2  House,  installed  in 

1930  30,000.00 

Two  40  million  gallon  Centrifugal  Pumps  at  Chain  of  Rocks,  in- 
stalled in  1925 65,000.00 

Three   15   million  gallon   Triple   Expansion   Pumps  at   Baden,   in- 
stalled in  1927-1930  330,000.00 

One  20  million  gallon  Triple  Expansion  Pump  at  Bissell's  Point, 

No.  2  House,  installed  in  1921 110,000.00 

Two  350  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Bissell's  Point  No.  2  House,  installed  in 

1933  15,000.00 

Cost  of  new  works  started  at  once,  completed  by  1918 11,000,000.00 

Interest  on  $70,000.00  from  1920  to  1935  at  3% 31,500.00 

Interest  on  $45,000.00  from  1920  to  1935  at  3% 20,250.00 

Interest  on  $30,000.00  from  1930  to  1935  at  3% 4,500.00 

Interest  on  $65,000.00  from  1925  to  1935  at  3% 19,500.00 

Interest  on  $330,000.00  from  1928  to  1935  at  3% 69,300.00 

Interest  on  $110,000.00  from  1921  to  1935  at  3% 46,200.00 

Interest  on  $15,000.00  from  1933  to  1935  at  3% 900.00 

Interest  on  $5,500,000.00  from  1913  to  1918  at  3% 825,000.00 

Interest  on  $11,000,000.00  from  1918  to  1935  at  3%...  5,610,000.00 


$24,823,728.50 

The  cost  of  carrying  out  this  scheme  would  be  $1,050,900.00  more 
than  that  of  Proposition  2  to  1935,  with  the  advantage  of  at  least  five 
years  longer  life  and  the  avoidance  of  the  expenditure  of  $750,000.00 
in  1913  for  a  new  intake  tower  and  tunnel,  and  the  revetment  of  the 
Illinois  shore. 

If  the  consumption  were  at  once  restricted  by  the  installation  of 
meters,  and  it  could  be  relied  upon  that  new  works  would  be  in  operation 
in  five  years,  it  would  not  be  too  great  a  risk  to  continue  to  depend  upon 
the  present  intake  until  that  time.  But  no  engineer  would  recommend 
taking  such  a  chance  unless  he  was  left  unhampered  to  carry  out  such 
plans. 

Under  our  system  of  government  such  freedom  of  action  is  impossi- 
ble, and  the  only  thing  left  to  do  is  to  build  a  new  intake  tower  and 
tunnel. 

The  Water  Commissioner  recommends  the  following  course  of  action, 
which  is,  in  his  opinion,  the  most  economical  and  efficient,  and  which  will 
result  in  the  greatest  satisfaction  and  benefit  to  the  citizens  of  St.  Louis : 

1.  Authorize  the  general  installation  of  meters  to  be  completed  not 
later  than  1918,  establish  equitable  meter  rates  and  abolish  all  flat  rates 
as  fast  as  the  territory  is  covered. 

2.  Build  a  new  intake  tower  and  tunnel  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks 
to  insure  an  ample  supply  of  water  at  the  lowest  stage  of  the  River  and 
under  the  worst  conditions  produced  by  extreme  cold  weather. 

3.  Build  a  filter  plant  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks  and  make  the  necessary 
changes  in  basins  as  outlined  in  Appendix  "B." 


22  REPORT   OF    THE    WATER   COMMISSIONER 


4.  Make  all  necessary  replacements  and  additions  as  scheduled  in 
Appendix  "C"  for  bringing  the  daily  working  capacity  of  the  present 
plant  up  to  150  million  gallons  per  day,  and  for  its  continuous  operation 
until  1960  or  later. 

5.  Build  new  water  works  with  a  working  capacity  of  100  million 
gallons  per  day,  with  an  intake  on  the  Missouri  River  and  with  reservoirs 
and  filters  at  Stratman's,  to  be  completed  by  1935,  as  described  in  Ap- 
pendix "C." 

If  the  above  recommendations  are  adopted  and  carried  out,  St. 
Louis  will  have,  during  the  next  fifty  years,  as  ample  and  healthful  a 
supply  of  water  as  any  city  on  this  continent. 

Respectfully  submitted, 


Water  Commissioner. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


23 


APPENDIX  A. 

PREPARED  BY  GURDON  G.  BLACK, 
Engineer  in  Charge,  Supply  and  Purifying  Division,  Saint  Louis  Water 

Works. 

The  following  report  gives  the  capacities  of  the  intake  tower,  conduits 
and  settling  basins  as  at  present  constructed,  and  also  the  capacities  and 
costs  of  the  additions  which  will  be  necessary  under  the  various  plans  for 
increasing  the  capacity  of  the  works : 

INTAKE  TOWER. 

Location. 

The  present  intake  tower,  completed  in  1892,  is  located  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi River  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks,  lO1/^  miles  above  the  Eads  Bridge 
by  river,  1  mile  south  of  the  extreme  northern  city  limits,  and  51/2  miles 
south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri.  It  is  1500  feet  east  of  the  west 
bank  of  the  river,  about  85  feet  above  the  angle  in  Homer's  Dike,  and  on 
the  west  edge  of  the  channel.  Its  foundation  is  on  solid  rock.  The  rock 
surface  elevations  are  68.4  front  end,  66.4  at  back,  67.0  at  center  west 
side,  and  66.6  at  center  of  east  side.  Below  elevation  80.4  the  tower  is 
57.6x22',  with  vertical  walls,  11x22'  triangular  nose,  and  semi-octagonal 
back.  Above  elevation  80.4  to  elevation  100.0  the  nosing  slopes  back  to 
form  an  ice  breaker,  inclined  at  54° -44'  to  the  horizontal,  the  walls  batter 
1/2"  to  the  foot,  and  the  back  is  semi-circular.  Above  elevation  100.0 
both  ends  are  semi-circular,  and  the  sides  are  straight.  The  platform 
and  operating  floor  are  at  elevation  117.4,  the  gate  house  being  40'x20' 
with  semi-circular  ends.  The  keeper's  room  17'  above  operating  floor  is 
a  16'  circle.  All  exterior  masonry  below  elevation  117.4  is  Red  Granite, 
above  is  Grafton  stone. 

In  the  interior  of  the  tower  are  two  wells,  one  directly  over  the  down- 
take  shaft,  connected  by  a  4'x6'  gated  opening,  with  its  bottom  at  72.4. 

Ports. 
Ports,  all  with  gates,  are  located  as  follows : 


No.  of 
openings. 

Size 
Width 
by 
Height. 

Location. 

Elev. 
of 
Bottom. 

Gratings. 

When 
Built. 

Remarks. 

1 

4x6 

West 

100.0 

Xoln' 

1891 

Used     as    entrance 

at  ordinary  stages. 

1 

4x6 

West 

89.4 

Wrt.  Iron 

Never  used. 

1 

4x6 

East 

80.4 

Wrt.  Iron 

Opens   to   well. 

2 

3x4 

Bast 

72.4 

Cast  Iron 

Opens   to  well. 

1 

4x6 

East 

72.4 

Cast  Steel 

Opens  to  downtake 

shaft. 

1 

5x5 

S.  East 

68.4 

None 

1900 

Opens  to  downtake 

shaft. 

1 

4x6 

South 

54.7 

None 

1912 

Opens  to  downtake 

short     tunnel     and 

shaft    to    rock    sur- 

face at  elev.    66.40. 

Contracted    for    but 

not    yet    completed. 

1 

4x6 

Inside 

72.4 

Between    well    and 

downtake  shaft. 

24 


REPORT   OF   THE    WATER   COMMISSIONER 


All  pates,  except  5x5,  are  operated  by  hydraulic  lifts.  5x5  is  op- 
erated by  roller  bearing  stand  with  wheel.  All  operating  stands  are  at 
elevation  117.4. 

The  tower  was  parallel  to  current  when  installed,  but  changes  in 
Illinois  shore  line  have  caused  current  to  strike  at  an  angle  of  about  15°. 
A  small  sand  bar  forms  on  west  side  and  back  of  tower  at  nearly  all 
stages. 

The  tower  is  connected  to  the  wet  well  by  a  tunnel,  brick  lined, 
driven  through  rock,  with  downtake  and  uptake  shafts.  The  tunnel  is 
in  two  sections,  the  river  part  being  at  about  elevation  22  and  the  in- 
shore part  at  about  elevation  56. 

The  lengths  of  the  various  parts  are  as  follows: 


Downtake  Shaft  .............     40.00  ft. 

River  Tunnel  ............................  1563.15  ft. 

Uptake  Shaft  ..........................     24.00  ft. 

Inshore  Tunnel   .  ..  570.00  ft. 


Slope  to  Uptake  ..............  1  to  1000 

Slope  to  Uptake  ........................  1  to     200 


Total    ......................................  2197.15  ft. 

Diameter,  7'-0". 


Area.  38.5  sq.  ft. 

When  it  was  built  gaugings  were  made  and  an  approximate  value  of 
C  in  the  Chezy  formula  of  75  was  obtained  for  100  million  gallons  per 
day  flow. 

August  27-30,  approximate  gaugings  were  made,  with  the  following 
results  : 


c 

Pumping 
rate  per 
day. 

Elevation  Water  Surface. 

Loss  of  Head. 

R&r. 

(2) 
Down- 
take. 

(3) 
Up- 
take. 

(4) 
Wet 
Well 

2-4 

2-3 

3-4            1-4 

85 
89 
89 
79 
79 
81 
82 

140.000,000 
120,000,000 
120,000,000 
115,000,000 
115,000,000 
88,000,000 
130,000,000 

84.9 
84.9 
84.9 
85.9 
85.9 
85.9 
82.80 

83.67 
83.97 
83.81 
84.79 
84.99 
85.08 
81.18 

SO.  Ml 

81.38 
81.40 
82.57 
82.64 
83.80 
77.82 

78.22 
80.19 
80.25 
80.52 
80.63 
82.67 
76.12 

5.45 
3.78 
3.56 
4.27 
4.36 
2.41 
5.06 

3.66 
2.59 
2.41 
2.22 
2.35 
1.28 
3.36 

1.79 
1.19 
1.15 
2.05 
2.01 
1.13 
1.70 

6.68 
4.71 
4.65 
5.38 
5.27 
3.23 
6.08 

The  screens  in  screen  chamber  were  down  in  all  cases.  The  wet  well 
readings  in  the  first  three  were  taken  just  west  of  the  screens;  in  the 
last  three  just  over  the  pump  suction.  All  readings  are  averages  of  the 
readings  at  one  minute  intervals  for  fifteen  minutes.  No  hook  gauges 
were  used.  Pumping  is  approximate  only,  and  was  obtained  by  reading 
meters  on  turbines  and  comparing  discharge  with  those  from  meters. 

Average  C  of  80  will  be  conservative. 

The  loss  of  head  through  the  tunnel,  therefore,  for  various  pump- 
ings  will  be  as  follows: 


Pumping 
Mill. 
Gals, 
per  day. 

Velocity 
feet  per 
second. 

Velocity 
head. 

Friction 
Ix>ss. 

Total 

IX)SS. 

Required   Elev. 
in  Downtake. 

Wet  Well 
65 

Wet   Well 
66 

60 
90 
120 
130 
150 
160 
180 
200 

2.42 
3.64 
4.84 
5.24 
6.04 
6.44 
7.25 
8.05 

0.09 
0.21 
M.36 
0.43 
0.56 
0.65 
0.82 
1.01 

1.05 
2.15 
3.75 
4.36 
5.70 
6.50 
8.10 
9.80 

1.15 

2.36 
4.01 
4.78 
6.26 
7.15 
8.92 
]  0  .  8  1 

66.15 
67.36 
69.01 
69.78 
71.26 
72.15 
73.92 
75.81 

67.15 
68.36 
70.01 
70.78 
72.26 
73.15 
74.92 
76.81 

TO   THE  BOARD   OF  PUBLIC   IMPROVEMENTS.         25 


The  elevation  of  the  bottom  of  the  wet  well  is  57.0,  and  of  the  48" 
suction  lines  to  the  pumps  58.5.  The  surge  in  the  well  is  such  that  a 
minimum  water  level  of  65  is  required  to  provide  a  proper  air  seal,  and 
66  is  desirable,  because  of  the  increased  surge  with  ice  in  the  well. 

No  loss  of  head  through  the  gates  has  been  figured  in  the  tables 
given  below. 

Charts  showing  the  daily  river  stages  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks  since 
1897,  are  on  file.  The  lowest  water  on  record  was  in  January,  1909,  when 
an  ice  gorge  at  Alton  brought  the  stage  to  72.8  for  several  hours,  and 
maintained  it  at  an  average  of  only  73.2  for  three  days. 

The  records  for  maximum,  minimum  and  average  minimum  for  three 
days  of  each  year  are  as  given  below : 


STAGES  OF  RIVER. 


Year. 

Maxi- 
mum. 

Mini- 
mum. 

Av.  3 

Consec. 
Low 
Days. 

Year. 

Maxi- 
mum. 

Mini- 
mum. 

Av.  3 

Consec. 
Low 
Days. 

1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 

102.50 
98.40 
96.80 
94.60 
94.00 
98.40 
110.65 
105.80 

75.50 
76.50 
75.40 
76.70 
74.00 
75.20 
77.50 
75.30 

75.60 

76.80 
76.40 
76.80 
74.80 
75.50 
77.80 
75.30 

1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
1911 
1912 

101.30 
97.20 
98.70 
106.10 
106.50 
96.1 
91.6 
102.8 

74.80 
79.10 
79.40 
77.60 
72.80 
75.20 
74.2 
76.5 

75.00 
79.20 
79.60 
77.70 
73.20 
75.20 
74.4 
77.1 

For  safety,  it  will  therefore  be  necessary  to  use  a  maximum  river 
stage  of  73  in  figuring  the  quantity  of  water  that  can  be  passed  through 
gates  and  tunnel. 

With  no  ice  obstructions  and  no  clogging  of  screens,  maintaining  an 
elevation  of  66  in  the  wet  well,  the  following  quantities  can  be  passed 
through  each  gate : 


Elev.    in 
Down- 
take. 

Corresponding 
Pumping. 

Million  Gallons  Per  Day  Through  Gates. 

4x6 
Elev. 

72.4. 

5x5 

Elev. 
68.4. 

4x6 
Elev. 
54.7. 

Total. 

Total 
without 
New 
Gate. 

Mill. 
Gals. 

Sec. 
Ft. 

67.15 
68.36 
70.01 

70.78 
72.26 

60 
90 
120 
130 
150 

93 

140 
186 
200.5 
232 

3 
3 
3 
3 
3 

103 
103 
94 

88 
58 

180 
160 
129 
112 
64 

289 
269 
239 
206 
130 

109 
109 
100 
94 
64 

During  periods  of  ice  trouble,  when  the  gates  are  partially  blocked 
by  ice  cakes,  it  will  be  impossible  to  secure  an  adequate  supply. 

At  higher  river  elevations,  serious  trouble  is  caused  by  the  ice  cakes 
jamming  against  the  gratings,  by  slush  ice  adhering  to  the  gratings,  and 
by  ice  passing  the  gates  and  accumulating  in  the  wet  well.  This  trouble 
is  accentuated  by  the  lack,  of  a  number  of  ports,  the  resultant  velocity 
now  being  so  high  as  to  carry  much  ice  with  the  water. 

The  velocity  in  sec.  feet,  at  various  river  elevations  and  different 


26 


REPORT   OF   THE    WATER   COMMISSIONER 


pumpings  with  south  gate  in  service,  is  as  follows,  all  ports  being  unob- 
structed : 


Velocity    in    Sec.    Feet    when    Pumping    in 

River 

Port 

Million  Gallons  is 

Stage. 

Area. 

90 

120 

130                     150 

200 

72.5 

44.5 

3.20 

4.27 

4.70 

5.30 

7.12 

78.0 

55.0 

2.56 

3.44 

3.82 

4.27 

5.74 

73.5 

60.0 

2.33 

3.10 

3.46 

3.89 

5.21 

74.0 

65.0 

2.17 

2.92 

3.23 

3.62 

4.86 

74.5 

70.0 

2.00 

2.71 

3.00 

3.37 

4.53 

76.0 

75.0 

1.87 

2.53 

2.80 

3.14 

4.22 

75.5 

Stl.K 

1.75 

2.37 

2.62 

2.95 

3.95 

76.0 

85.0 

1.65 

2.24 

2.47 

2.77 

3.72 

76.5 

89.4 

1.57 

2.12 

2.35 

2.64 

3.54 

77.0 

91.4 

1.53 

2.08 

2.30 

2.58 

3.46 

77.5 

93.4 

1.50 

2.03 

2.25 

2.52 

3.38 

78.0 

95.4 

1.47 

1.99 

2.20 

2.44 

3.32 

78.4 

97.0 

1.44 

1.96 

2.17 

2.42 

3.26 

The  current  in  the  river  is  then  about  four  miles  per  hour,  or  5.87 
feet  per  second. 

The  maximum  pumping  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks  at  any  time  thus  far 
has  been  about  140  million  gallons  per  day. 

The  gratings  over  all  gates  at  the  intake  tower  are  of  ample  size 
under  all  ordinary  conditions  to  admit  the  water  without  appreciable 
loss  of  head. 

A  comparison  of  grate  area  and  gate  area  follows: 


Height 
Above 
Bottom 
of  Gate 
in  feet. 

4'x6'  Gate   (80.4). 

I'xfi'    <5aU'    i  72.4). 

2-3'x4'  Gate   (72.4). 

Gate 
Area 
sq.  feet. 

Grate 
Area  in 
sq.  ft. 
Bars 
Horizontal. 

Gate 
Area 
sq.  feet. 

Grate 
Area 
sq.  feet. 
Bars 
Vertical. 

Gate 
Area 
sq.  feet. 

Grate 
Area  in 
sq.  ft. 
Bars 
Horizontal. 

0 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
5'  8" 
6 
7'1" 

0 
4 
8 
12 
16 

24 

3.97 
8  51 
13.05 
17   59 
22.13 

3i!2i 
37.17 

0 
4 
8 
12 
16 
20 

24 

4.55 
8.39 
12.23 
15.91 
18.95 
22.79 

26!  63 
32.0 

0 
6 
12 
18 
24 

5.55 
12.95 
20.35 
27.75 
35.15 
42.41 
49.84 

Summarizing,  it  may  be  said  : 

With  no  ice  in  river,  at  a  stage  of  73,  the  obtainable  quantity  of 
water,  maintaining  a  head  of  66  in  the  wet  well,  is  about  140  million 
gallons  per  day,  and  the  velocity  through  the  ports  is  then  about  4  feet 
per  second.  As  the  tower  was  last  winter,  without  the  south  gate,  under 
similar  conditions,  but  little  over  110  million  gallons  per  day  could  be 
obtained. 

With  ice  in  the  river,  the  quantity  obtainable  varies  greatly,  being 
generally  much  less  than  as  given  above,  which  is  for  the  most  favorable 
conditions  at  that  stage,  all  ports  being  open  and  free  from  obstruction. 
Large  ice  cakes  will  be  drawn  through  the  migrated  openings,  and  if 
they  do  not  obstruct  the  tunnel,  will  have  to  be  taken  out  at  the  wet 
well,  so  as  to  insure  a  clear  suction  for  the  pumps. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.    27 

The  relatively  high  velocity  through  the  ports  increases  both  the 
quantity  of  cake  ice  and  slush  ice  that  must  be  handled  in  the  well.  In- 
creased port  area  would  remedy  this  condition,  but  there  is  no  available 
space  for  such  increase,  and  were  there  such  space,  the  loss  of  head 
through  the  tunnel  would  limit  the  obtainable  quantity  to  a  little  over 
150  million  gallons  per  day. 

It  is  essential,  therefore,  that  more  intake  capacity  be  provided. 

FILLING  CONDUIT. 

The  pumps  lift  the  water  from  the  wet  well  to  the  delivery  well, 
discharging  through  42"  pipe.  The  delivery  well,  west  of  the  engine 
house  is  of  masonry  construction,  47'  long  by  15'  wide,  and  at  its  south 
end  opens  into  the  filling  conduit. 

Critical  elevations  are : 

Coping  of  Delivery  Well 136.30 

Center  of  42"  discharge  pipe  132.05 

Delivery  Well  Floor  121.90 

Invert  of  Conduit  at  Entrance 121.90 

The  filling  conduit  connecting  the  delivery  well  with  the  settling 
basins  is  2574  feet  long  with  a  slope  to  the  south  of  1  in  4000.  It  -is  of 
horse  shoe  section,  9'-0"  wide  by  8.4  feet  high.  Fifty  feet  west  of  the 
basins  it  is  connected  to  each,  at  a  gate  chamber,  by  a  cast  iron  pipe 
line  5'  in  diameter.  Discharging  into  Basin  6  through  the  5'  pipe  its 
capacity  when  clean  (N^O.OIS)  is  200  million  gallons  under  2'  head;  into 
Basin  1  through  receiving  chamber  200,000,000  gallons  per  day,  and  into 
Basin  9  through  receiving  chamber  and  7-foot  pipe  line  200,000,000  gal- 
lons per  day  under  1-foot  head. 

During  the  eight  years  the  present  system  of  clarification  has  been 
in  use  a  scale  composed  of  lime  and  sediment  gradually  accumulated 
along  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  filling  conduit  until  the  waterway  was 
so  contracted  as  to  necessitate  cleaning.  Near  the  point  where  the  lime 
is  added  at  the  delivery  well  the  deposit  was  from  10  to  12  inches 
thick  on  the  sides  near  the  bottom,  tapering  off  to  nothing  at  the  flow 
line.  On  the  bottom  there  were  some  projections  two  feet  high,  while 
the  average  depth  was  about  18  inches,  although  it  had  been  partially 
cleaned  once  during  the  clarification  period.  With  more  frequent  clean- 
ings, the  conduit  under  a  two-foot  head  will  deliver  200  millions  to  Basin 
9  at  elevation  125. 

SETTLING  BASINS. 

The  settling  basin  system  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks  consists  of  six  basins 
in  line  just  east  of  Columbia  Bottom  Road,  each  400  feet  wide  by  670 
feet  long,  and  three  basins  100  feet  east  of  these,  two  being  413  feet  long 
by  400  feet  wide,  and  one  826  feet  long  by  400  feet  wide.  The  basins 
are  so  arranged  that  they  may  be  worked  in  series,  filling  in  either  No. 


28 


REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


1  or  No.  9  and  drawing  from  any  one  in  the  series  as  may  be  required,  or 
by  filling  in  No.  1)  and  any  one  of  the  first  six,  they  may  be  operated  in 
parallel.  Critical  elevations  are: 

Top  of  Coping  ..  127.0 

Bottom  of  Drawing  Gate  107.0 

Bottom  of  Sewer  Gate  101.89 

High  water  level  in  Basins  125.20 

The  elevations  of  the  weirs  between  the  basins  are  as  follows: 


1-2 

2-3 

3-4 

4-5 

5-6 

7-8 

8-9  Weir 

Filling  No.  9 

125.0 

124.5                123.5 

123.0 

122.0 

120.5 

124.0 

124.5 

Basin  capacities  in  million  gallons  are  as  follows: 


Basin 

3    1-C. 

Basin  7. 

Basins 
8-9. 

Total 

Each. 

Total. 

(Each) 

1-9 

Total   water   level  .... 
Available  total   

125 
125-107 

31.3 
31  .3 

187.8 
187.8 

53.8 
44.3 

26.9 
22.1 

295.4 
276.3 

Working  . 

125-111 

28.0 

168.0 

34.7 

17.3 

237.4 

CONDUITS. 

A  horseshoe  shaped  drawing  conduit,  11  feet  wide  by  9  feet  high, 
50  feet  east  of  the  six  basins,  connected  to  each  of  the  old  basins  by  two 
5-foot  pipe  lines  and  to  the  new  ones  by  7-foot  pipe  lines,  carries  the 
water  to  the  drawing  conduit  chamber  at  the  south  e.nd  of  the  basin 
system. 

ELEVEN  FOOT  CONDUIT. 

From  the  drawing  conduit  chamber  to  Baden,  two  conduit  lines 
are  provided.  The  conduit  is  a  masonry  aqueduct  of  horseshoe  section, 
11  feet  wide  by  9  feet  high.  It  has  a  uniform  slope  of  1  in  10,000  and 
is  18,838  feet  long.  It  was  emptied  for  examination  in  1908,  but  has 
never  been  cleaned.  No  accurate  determinations  of  its  carrying  capacity 
have  been  made  experimentally,  but  some  work  will  be  done  toward 
that  end  this  winter.  Approximate  determinations  based  on  the  drawing 
from  the  basins  at  the  Chain  gave  values  of  C.  in  the  Chezy  formula,  vary- 
ing from  84  to  132.90.  An  approximate  mean  would  be  110. 


FLOW  LINE. 

The  flow  line  is  7  feet  in  diameter  of  i/2  inch  steel  in  telescoping 
sections,  with  horizontal  and  circular  lap-riveted  joints.  It  parallels 
the  conduit,  being  22  feet  distant  therefrom,  has  a  uniform  slope  of  1 
to  10,000.  and  connects  to  the  inlet  chamber  of  the  Baden  reservoir.  It 
was  put  in  service  in  1907.  Assuming  a  C.  of  100  for  this  pipe,  no  tests 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


29 


having  been  made  thereon,  its  carrying  capacity  together  with  that  of  the 
conduit  under  various  water  elevations,  is  as  follows: 


Elevation  of  Water  in 

Million  Gallons   Per  Day. 

Drawing 

Baden 

Remarks. 

Conduit 

Gate 

Conduit. 

Flow  Line. 

Total. 

Chamber. 

Chamber. 

112.67 

110.78 

94 

32          ! 

126 

Flow    line    1'    be- 

low  arch. 

113.67 

110.78 

120 

42 

162 

Conduit      full      at 

Chain. 

115.97 

110.78 

150 

55 

205 

Conduit    2.3    head. 

119.47 

110.78 

200 

123.70 

110.78 

90 

Conduit  not  in  use. 

114.68 

111.68 

iii 

42          i 

iii 

9'  Conduit  full  at 

Baden. 

With  C. 

Conduit  120 

and    C. 

Flow 

Line  lin. 

112.67 

110.78 

102 

36 

138 

NINE  FOOT  CONDUIT. 

From  the  Baden  gate  chamber  to  the  Bissell  's  Point  basins,  a  single 
conduit  carries  the  supply.  The  nine  foot  conduit  is  of  horseshoe  sec- 
tion 9  feet  wide  by  7  feet  9  inches  high. 

It  has  a  uniform  slope  of  1  in  10,000  and  is  17,930  feet  long.  A 
gauging  chamber  has  been  built  near  Bissell 's  Point,  and  current  meter 
gaugings  are  being  made  to  determine  the  carrying  capacity.  One  set 
of  readings  has  thus  far  been  made  with  the  following  results.  This 
work  will  be  continued: 


Depth 
of.  Water 
in 
Conduit. 

R.  of 
Section. 

A.  Of 
Section. 

Blev. 
Water 
Baden. 

Blev. 
Water 
Gauging 
Chamber. 

Diff. 
in 
Eleva- 
tion. 

S 
(L=15557) 

Aver- 
age V. 
Ob- 
serv- 
ed. 

C=-^ 

V  ra 

5  462 

2.46 

45.38 

109.555 

107.246 

2.309 

0.0001485 

2.11 

110.5 

5.310 
5.539 
5.447 

2.44 
2.47 
2.46 

44.17 
45.97 
45.26 

109.374 
109.637 
109.585 

107.094 
107.323 
107.231 

2.280 
2.314 
2.354 

0.0001465 
0.0001490 
0.0001512 

2.15 
2.178 
2.261 

113.8 
113.1 
117.0 

Average 

113.6 

For  computation  purposes  an  average  C.  of  110.0  will  be  assumed. 
Conduit  discharges  under  varying  conditions  are  as  follows : 


Elevation  of  Water. 

Baden. 

Bissell's  Point. 

Million  Gallons. 

Remarks. 

111.68 

104.1 

100.0 

Conduit    full    at    Baden 
V.   at  B.   Pt.   10.45. 

111.68 
111.68 

107.15 
109.88 

84.0 
59.5 

Conduit   full   at   Baden. 
Conduit    full    at    Baden 
8  =  0.0001. 

110.68 

108.88 

61.0 

Water     1'     below     top 
arch  S-  0.0001. 

STORAGE  BASINS. 
Storage  basins  are  located  at  Baden,  Bissell's  Point  and  Compton 


Hill. 


30  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 

BADEN. 

The  Baden  basin,  put  in  service  in  1907,  lies  just  north  of  the  Baden 
Pumping  Station.  It  is  rectangular  in  cross  section,  one  corner  being 
cut  off,  502  feet  long  by  407.5  feet  wide.  It  lies  entirely  in  excavation, 
has  reinforced  concrete  walls  and  concrete  bottom.  The  top  of  the  cop- 
ing is  at  elevation  114.0.  The  total  capacity,  with  water  at  elevation 
111.78,  is  25,000,000  gallons,  and  the  working  capacity  at  elevation  97.0 
is  20,000,000  gallons. 

BISSELL'S  POINT. 

The  reservoir  at  Bissell's  Point,  built  in  1870,  for  sedimentation 
purposes,  has  four  basins,  each  277  feet  wide  by  600  feet  long,  separated 
by  weirs  30  feet  long  at  elevation  103.0  cut  in  the  division  walls  at  the 
east  side.  The  total  capacity  of  the  basins,  water  at  elevation  109.0,  is 
83  million  gallons,  and  the  working  capacity  is  59  million  gallons.  The 
basins  are  connected  to  the  clear  well  by  a  brick  conduit  6'  wide  by 
6'-9"  high.  This  conduit  is  in  bad  condition,  and  for  sanitary  reasons 
should  be  rebuilt  if  it  is  to  be  continued  in  service.  The  basins  may  be 
by-passed  by  means  of  a  48"  pipe  line  from  the  terminal  chamber  to  the 
clear  well. 

COMPTON  HILL. 

Compton  Hill  reservoir  is  the  only  high  service  storage  basin.  It  is 
on  Grand  Avenue  and  Lafayette  Avenue,  was  built  in  1870,  and  has  two 
basins  with  earth  walls,  lined  with  puddle  and  stone  paving,  separated 
by  a  masonry  division  wall.  The  working  capacity  is  58  million  gallons. 

ADDITIONS  TO  PRESENT  PLANT. 

Unless  measures  are  taken  to  either  reduce  the  consumption  or  con- 
struct an  additional  plant  at  some  other  location,  additions  to  the  present 
plant  are  necessary.  Those  most  important  are  as  follows : 

INTAKE  TOWER. 

The  capacity  of  the  present  tower  under  winter  conditions,  without 
ice,  is  150  million  gallons  per  day.  This  would  be  greatly  reduced  under 
unfavorable  conditions.  Another  intake  tower  provides  the  only  method 
of  increasing  the  capacity. 

Surveys  have  been  made  and  preliminary  plans  prepared  for  a  new 
tower  to  be  located  in  the  Mississippi  River  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks,  about 
800  feet  to  the  east  and  north  of  the  present  tower. 

The  tower  will  be  of  the  same  general  design  as  the  present  one,  with 
two  interior  wells,  connected  by  gates.  The  foundation  will  be  on  bed 
rock,  about  elevation  60.  Ample  port  area  will  be  provided  so  that  the 
velocity  of  the  water  passing  through  will  be  so  low  as  to  carry  a  mini- 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


31 


mum  of  slush  ice  and  so  that  the  loss  of  head  through  the  gates  may  be 
decreased. 

A  tentative  location  of  gates  follows : 


No.  of 
Ports. 

Size 
Width 
and 
Length. 

Loca- 
tion. 

Eleva- 
tion 
Bottom. 

Grating. 

Remarks. 

2 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 

4x6 
4x6 
4x6 
4x6 
4x6 
6x8 

West 
West 
South 
Bast 
East 

62 
62 
62 
62 
62 
62 

Yes 
Yes 
Yes 
Yes 
Yes 
No 

Opens  to  well. 
Opens  to  downtake. 
Opens  to  downtake. 
Opens  to  downtake. 
Opens  to  well. 
Between  well  and  downtake 

1 
1 
1 
1 

1 

4x6 
4x6 
4x6 
4x6 
4x6 

West 
East 
East 
S.  West 
West 

72 
72 
81 
81 
100 

Yes 

Yes 
Yes 
Yes 
No 

Opens  to  well. 
Opens  to  downtake. 
Opens  to  well. 
Opens  to  downtake. 
Used    as    entrance    at    ordinary 
stages. 

The  tunnel,  8  feet  in  diameter,  in  solid  rock  at  about  the  same  ele- 
vation as  old  tunnel  and  shafts,  will  drain  to  pit  pump  shaft.  Tunnel 
will  connect  to  wet  well  north  of  present  screen  chamber  opening  through 
a  screen  chamber.  Tunnel  and  shafts  will  be  lined  with  concrete  care- 
fully finished  to  reduce  friction  as  low  as  possible.  All  gates  will  be 
motor  operated,  and  cable  lines  for  power,  light,  and  telephones  will  be 
laid  in  conduit,  built  into  tunnel  lining. 

The  estimated  cost  of  this  work  is: 

Tower  and  superstructure $150,000.00 

Tunnel  and  shafts  300,000.00 

Screen  chamber  and  wet  well  connection 50,000.00 

Gates  and  appurtenances,  cables  and  equipments,  gratings,  etc 50,000.00 


$550,000.00 

In  addition  it  will  be  necessary  to  revet  about  3%  miles  of  the  east 
bank  of  the  river  so  that  the  channel  may  be  retained  at  the  towers. 
Within  the  last  seven  years  the  banks  above  have  been  cut  in  over  half  a 
mile,  and  the  point  of  attack  has  moved  down  stream  until  it  is  now  y2 
mile  above  the  present  tower.  The  estimated  cost  of  this  work  is 
$200,000.00. 

SETTLING  BASINS. 

To  increase  the  capacity  of  the  clarification  plant,  which  is  now  at 
times  inadequate,  either  additional  settling  basins  or  filters  are  necessary. 
The  efficiencies  of  each  are  discussed  in  Appendix  "B,"  and  estimates 
for  a  filter  plant  are  there  given.  Estimates  for  additional  settling 
basins  only  will  be  given  here. 

Six  basins,  each  400  feet  by  670  feet,  in  line  with  and  south  of  the 
present  six  old  basins,  are  proposed.  The  city  now  owns  all  property 
necessary.  The  walls  will  be  of  reinforced  concrete,  protected  from 
undermining  by  steel  sheet  piling  curtain  walls,  driven  to  rock  on  the 
river  side,  and  to  the  depth  necessary  elsewhere.  The  present  filling  con- 
duit will  be  waterproofed  and  extended  to  supply  the  new  basins,  addi- 
tional conduit  capacity  being  provided  from  the  delivery  well  to  Basin  1. 
The  present  drawing  conduit  will  be  extended  east  of  the  new  basins, 


32  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


and  turning,  run  west  to  chamber  built  connecting  both  the  11  foot  con 
duit  and  the  flow  line.  Cast  iron  sewers  to  the  river  will  be  provided 
with  connections  to  the  ditch  at  the  west  end  of  each  basin  for  flushing 
Gate  chambers  and  gates  will  be  of  the  same  general  design  as  those  at 
present.  The  estimated  cost  of  the  basins  with  all  connections  is 
$1,250.000.00. 

CONDUIT. 

Using  conduit  and  flow  line  in  conjunction,  no  additional  capacity 
from  the  Chain  to  Baden  will  be  required  until  the  consumption  (average 
daily)  increases  to  150  millions,  the  conduit  being  operated  under  a  2 
foot  head.  Kelow  Baden,  however,  the  maximum  conduit  capacity  is  100 
millions  daily,  and  the  working  capacity  is  much  lower.  With  the  in- 
creasing of  the  capacity  of  the  Bissell  's  Point  plant  to  100  millions  daily, 
as  proposed,  a  conduit  capacity  at  least  one-third  greater  should  be 
provided.  To  do  this  it  will  be  necessary  to  parallel  the  present  con- 
duit with  a  flow  line  7  feet  in  diameter  of  reinforced  concrete  or  riveted 
steel  pipe.  Including  all  necessary  connections  at  Bissell 's  Point,  the 
estimated  cost  of  these  is: 

Concrete  $300,000.00 

Riveted  Steel 480,000.00 

Wood    Stave   ..  210,000.00 

BASINS, 

Should  a  filter  plant  be  constructed  at  the  Chain,  increased  storage 
would  be  desirable  at  Baden.  The  city  owns  ground  east  of  the  conduit 
on  which  basins  of  100  million  gallons  capacity  can  be  constructed. 
These  would  be  of  reinforced  concrete  walls  and  concrete  floors,  almost 
wholly  in  excavation,  and  covered  with  a  flat  slr.b  construction  roof. 
The  basin  would  be  trapezoidal  in  shape,  800  feet  wide  by  1500  feet 
long  and  16  feet  deep.  The  estimated  cost,  including  the  covering  of  the 
Baden  storage  reservoir  now  in  place,  amounts  to  $1,000,000.00. 

The  estimates  cover  the  increases  in  capacity  most  essential  con- 
tinuing the  plant  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks  in  service  and  providing  no 
additional  supply. 

An  alternate  proposition  of  going  to  the  Missouri  River  for  an  ad- 
ditional supply  suggests  itself,  and  preliminary  estimates  on  the  cost 
thereof  have  been  prepared  as  follows : 

MISSOURI  RIVER  PLANT. 

The  establishment  and  construction  of  a  water  works  plant  on  the 
Missouri  River  with  reservoirs  and  filters  on  Stratman's  Hill,  whence 
the  water  can  be  supplied  by  gravity  to  the  City  of  Saint  Louis,  will 
necessitate  the  following  principal  items  of  expenditures: 

Land. 

Intake  tower  and  tunnel  and  bank  protection 

Pumping  plant  on  the  Missouri  River 

Pump  mains 

Reservoirs  and  niters. 

Distribution  mains. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.     33 

LAND. 

The  land  required  for  the  various  parts  of  the  work  is  as  follows: 

Eighty  acres  on  the  Missouri  River  for  pumping  plant  and  intake 
tunnel. 

A  strip  150  feet  wide  (145  acres)  from  the  pumping  station  to 
Stratman's  Hill,  upon  which  to  lay  pump  mains. 

Two  hundred  fifty  acres  in  the  neighborhood  of  Stratman's  Hill 
for  reservoirs,  filters,  right-of-way  for  railroad  switches,  and  sewers. 

A  strip  (100  acres)  from  Stratman's  Hill  to  the  city  limits,  upon 
\vhich  to  lay  distribution  mains. 

The  land  on  the  Missouri  River  should  not  cost  more  than  $500.00 
per  acre ;  that  for  a  right-of-way  from  the  pumping  station  to  Stratman  's 
Hill,  not  over  $750.00  per  acre;  at  Stratman's  Hill  $1,000.00  per  acre; 
and  the  right-of-way  from  there  to  the  city  limits,  $2,000.00  per  acre; 
making  a  total  of  $613,750.00  for  land. 

INTAKE  TOWER  AND  TUNNEL. 

Surveys  and  soundings  of  the  Missouri  River  show  a  favorable  loca- 
tion for  an  intake  eight  or  nine  miles  above  St.  Charles,  and  about  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  above  the  intake  of  the  St.  Louis  County  Water  Com- 
pany. At  this  point  there  is  sufficient  depth  of  water  near  the  right 
bank  of  the  river,  so  that  the  intake  tower  could  be  built  close  enough 
to  the  St.  Louis  County  side  of  the  river  to  admit  of  a  connection  to  the 
shore  with  a  bridge.  Bank  protection  would  have  to  be  provided  for  a 
distance  of  half  a  mile  above,  and  about  a  mile  below  the  tower  on  the 
St.  Louis  County  side,  and  for  about  a  mile  and  a  half  on  the  St.  Charles 
County  side,  in  order  to  keep  the  channel  in  its  present  location. 

Both  tower  and  tunnel  would  be  constructed  of  sufficient  capacity 
to  supply  the  final  completed  plant  with  a  working  daily  capacity  of  200 
million  gallons. 

The  tunnel  would  be  not  less  than  nine  feet  in  diameter,  and  the 
tower  large  enough  to  accommodate  gates  in  sufficient  numbers  and  size 
to  permit  an  ample  flow  of  water  through  the  inlets  at  the  lowest  stage  of 
the  river. 

From  the  tower  to  the  bluffs,  where  the  pumping  station  would  be 
located,  it  is  approximately  one-half  mile. 

The  cost  of  a  tower  and  tunnel  with  all  gates,  shafts  and  appur- 
tenances would  probably  amount  to  $750,000.00. 

Taking  the  average  cost  of  bank  protection  at  $15.00  per  running 
foot,  the  total  expenditure  necessary  for  this  work  would  be  $237,600.00. 

PUMPING  PLANT. 

The  following  estimate  on  the  cost  of  the  pumping  plant  has  been 
prepared  by  Leonard  A.  Day,  Engineer  in  Charge,  Construction  Division. 


34  REPORT  OF  THE  W  ATE  It  COMMISSIONER 


NKW  PLANT  FOR  MISSOl'RI  RIVER. 

Capacity  100.000.000  gallons  in  24  hours.    Working  head  350  feet: 

7-20,000.000  gallon   triple  expansion    pumping    engines,    $120,000.00 

each    $  840,000.00 

Steam  piping,  covering  and  auxiliaries  ...                                    30,000.00 

Feed  water  heaters  2,500.00 

3  Sump  pumps  3,000.00 

12-500  H.  P.  boilers  at  $12.00  per  H.  P 72,000.00 

12  Chain  grates  at  $4.00  per  H.  P 24,000.00 

6.000  H.  P.  superheaters  at  $3.00  per  H.  P 18,000.00 

Concrete  coal  bunkers  20,000.00 

Coal  and  ash  handling  machinery  18,000.00 

Crusher    3,000.00 

Engine    pit 30,000.00 

Engine  house  70,000.00 

Boiler  house  60,000.00 

Ash  tunnel   10,000.00 

Foundations   12,000.00 

Concrete  floor  8,000.00 

Coal  storage  house  10,000.00 

Smoke   stack    20,000.00 

Machine  shop,  blacksmith  shop  and  store  room 40,000.00 

Electrical    equipment    25,000.00 


$1,345,500.00 
Contingent  10  per  cent 134,500.00 


$1,480,000.00 
Grading,  Railroad  switches,  sewers,  etc 20,000.00 


$1,500,000.00 

In  estimating  the  cost  of  pumps,  boilers,  buildings,  etc.,  for  a  water 
works  plant  on  the  Missouri  River,  it  is  assumed  that  a  working  capacity 
of  100,000,000  gallons  per  day  is  all  that  would  be  needed  for  many  years, 
and  that  this  plant  could  be  duplicated,  making  it  a  twin  station,  when- 
ever the  necessity  arose  for  it. 

PUMP  MAINS. 

The  pump  mains  necessary  for  carrying  the  water  from  the  pumping 
station  on  the  Missouri  River  to  Stratman's  Hill  will  be  about  9  miles 
long. 

They  will  be  two  in  number,  6i/2  feet  in  diameter,  made  of  steel, 
for  the  first  installation  of  a  100,000,000  gallon  plant.  When  the 
capacity  of  the  river  station  is  doubled,  it  will  be  necessary  to  lay  a 
third  main  of  the  same  size.  The  friction  loss  in  each  main  when 
100,000.000  gallons  is  passing  through  it  will  be  2.3  feet  per  mile,  or  a 
total  of  about  21  feet  from  the  pumps  to  Stratman's.  The  cost  of  these 
mains  will  be  approximately  .$25.00  per  foot,  or  a  total  of  $2,376,000.00. 

RESERVOIRS  AND  FILTERS. 

The  necessary  reservoirs  for  a  working  capacity  of  100,000,000  i?al 
Ions  per  day  would  consist  of  a  set  of  preliminary  settling  basins  holding 
not  less  than  200,000.000  gallons;  a  pair  of  coagulating  basins,  each  hold- 
ing not   less   than   1,500,000   gallons,   and   clear   water   basins   with   a 
total  capacity  of  not   less  than   100,000,000  gallons.     The  filter  plant 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  35 


should  consist  of  not  less  than  30  filter  units,  each  of  5,000,000  gallons 
daily  capacity. 

The  cost  of  the  preliminary  settling  basins,  railroad  tracl:,  sewers, 
etc.,  is  estimated  at  $1,500,000.00;  that  of  the  coagulating  basins  at 
$350,000.00;  of  the  clear  water  basins  at  $1,000,000.00;  and  of  the  filter 
plant  at  $600,000.00,  making  a  total  of  $3,450,000.00  for  reservoirs  and 
filters. 

DISTRIBUTION  MAINS. 

These  should  consist  of  two  seven  foot  steel  pipes  seven  miles  long, 
extending  from  Stratrnan's  to  the  city  limits.  From  these,  48-inch  cast 
iron  pipe  would  be  necessary  to  connect  with  the  present  distribution 
system.  This  will  require  about  12  miles  of  48-inch  pipe  at  an  approxi- 
mate cost  of  $16.00  per  foot.  The  steel  mains  would  cost  $27.50  per 
lineal  foot,  or  $2,032,800.00  for  the  two  lines,  each  7  miles  long.  The 
cast  iron  48-inch  mains  would  cost  $1,013,760.00. 

The  total  cost  of  the  Missouri  River  plant  would,  therefore,  be  as 
follows : 

Land   $  613,750.00 

Intake  tower  and  tunnel 750,000.00 

Bank    protection    237,600.00 

Pumping   plant 1,500,000.00 

Pump  mains  2,376,000.00 

Reservoirs  and  filters  3,450,000.00 

Distribution  mains  2,032,800.00 

Distribution  mains  ..                                                        1,013,760.00 


$11,973,910.00 

This  expenditure  will  provide  for  a  plant  with  a  working  capacity 
of  100  million  gallons  per  day.  These  works  should  be  so  constructed 
that  this  capacity  could  be  doubled  when  needed  without  doubling  the 
cost.  The  items  which  would  not  enter  into  the  cost  of  doubling  the 
capacity  would  be  the  intake  tower  and  tunnel,  the  purchase  of  land,  and 
bank  protection.  The  cost  of  increasing  the  working  capacity  to  200 
million  gallons  per  day  may  be  estimated  as  follows: 

Pumping   plant    ..  $1,450,000.00 

Pump  main  1,088,000.00 

Reservoirs   and   filters   3,350,000.00 

Distribution  mains 1,016,400.00 

Distribution  mains  ..  1,013,760.00 


$7,918,160.00 

Should  a  plan  be  adopted  providing  for  the  construction  of  a  plant 
of  100,000,000  gallons  daily  working  capacity  without  any  provision  for 
future  enlargement,  its  cost  would  be  as  follows : 

Land   $  463,000.00 

Intake  tower  and  tunnel  500,000.00 

Bank  protection   237,600.00 

Pumping   plant   1,450,000.00 

Pump  mains 2,376,000.00 

Reservoirs  and  filters  3,250,000.00 

Distribution  mains  2,032,800.00 

Distribution  mains  ...                                                              700,000.00 


$11,009,400.00 


36  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


APPENDIX  B. 

PREPARED   BY  W.   F.   MONFORT, 
Chemist,  Saint  Louis  Water  Works. 

QUALITY  AND  TREATMENT. 

It  lias  been  manifest  for  several  years  that  the  installation  at  the 
Chain  of  Rocks  is  inadequate  to  meet  present  consumption,  much  less  the 
natural  increase  of  the  next  few  years.  There  is  evidence  that  even  in 
the  first  year  of  operation  the  clarifying  plant  was  not  of  sufficient 
capacity. 

Any  discussion  of  extension  or  enlargement  of  the  present  plant 
must  be  prefaced  by  consideration  of  the  quality  of  waters  furnishing 
our  supply.  It  was  not  until  within  a  few  years  that  sufficient  data  had 
accumulated  to  warrant  judgment  as  to  the  adaptation  of  the  present 
treatment  to  the  character  of  waters  entering  our  intake.  The  questions 
to  be  considered  involve  the  quality  of  the  supply,  the  adequacy  of  the 
process  of  treatment,  the  present  capacity  of  the  plant,  and  such  exten- 
sions and  changes  as  give  promise  of  providing  for  present  and  future 
needs  of  the  community  a  supply  ample  and  of  a  quality  acceptable  to  a 
public  whose  judgment  has  been  made  keener  by  progressive  improve- 
ment through  eight  years  past. 

QUALITY  OF  RIVER  WATER — COLOR. 

Each  of  the  principal  streams  contributing  to  our  supply  has  its 
peculiarities,  of  which  color,  suspended  and  dissolved  solids  most  con- 
cern us.  Water  standing  in  the  5000  to  6000  lakes  and  innumerable 
swamps  at  headwaters  of  Upper  Mississippi  River,  exposed  to  decom- 
posing vegetable  matter — bark,  woody .  tissue,  leaves,  sawdust,  marsh 
grasses,  fallen  needles  and  cones  of  pine  and  cedar,  hemlock  and  tam- 
arack— acquires  a  color,  due  to  dissolved  organic  matter,  which  is  very 
deep.  A  color  of  two  hundred  parts  per  million  of  the  platinum  scale 
has  been  observed  in  the  forested  districts.  Precipitation  in  this  region 
flushes  out  the  colored  water  from  these  steeping  basins  into  rising 
streams  and  into  the  main  river.  Color  of  from  60  to  120  is  of  frequent 
occurrence  at  points  in  its  course. 

Illinois  River  drainage  basin  is  wholly  in  prairie  region,  under  cul- 
tivation, with  a  mean  annual  rainfall  of  30  to  40  inches.  While  the 
headwaters  of  Missouri  River  are  in  a  forested  basin,  the  main  stream 
flows  through  a  country  almost  devoid  of  forests,  with  an  annual  average 
precipitation  of  less  than  20  inches.  Neither  Illinois  nor  Missouri  River 
drainage  area  abounds  in  swamps.  Available  records  point  to  a  maxi- 
mum color  of  about  30  for  both  rivers. 

The  discharges  of  the  three  rivers  which  unite  above  Saint  Louis, 
therefore,  differ  no  less  in  color  than  in  mineralization.  When  forests 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.     37 


on  the  drainage  basins  at  the  head  of  the  Mississippi  are  exhausted — 
should  this  ever  occur — we  may  expect  the  color  of  Upper  Mississippi 
water  to  be  reduced ;  but  because  of  extensive  swamp  lands  which  will 
probably  persist,  it  can  hardly  become  a  negligible  quantity  as  in  the 
Ohio,  the  Missouri,  and  the  Illinois. 

It  is  apparent,  that  at  present,  unequal  distribution  of  spring  and 
fall  rains — or  rains  which  at  any  time  of  year  follow  protected  drouth — 
must  result  in  a  disturbance  of  the  balance  represented  by  "mean  annual 
discharge ' '  of  the  rivers  under  consideration,  with  corresponding  change 
in  color  of  water  entering  the  Saint  Louis  intake.  The  mean  annual 
discharge  of  Upper  Mississippi  at  Hannibal  is  125,000  second  feet;  of 
Missouri  River  at  its  mouth,  100,000  second  feet.  However,  in  1906-1907 
Upper  Mississippi  was  rated  at  77,000  second  feet;  Missouri  River  at 
97,000  second  feet,  while  Illinois  River  had  an  average  discharge  of  but 
28,000  cubic  feet  per  second.  There  is  evidence  that  these  averages  cover 
very  significant  fluctuations  in  the  relative  weight  of  discharge  during 
the  specific  period  mentioned. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  river  navigation,  it  is  desirable  that  pre- 
cipitation be  so  distributed  that  a  good  stage  of  water  may  prevail  at 
all  times.  Areas  of  low  barometric  pressure  should  so  distribute  their 
precipitation  that  Missouri  River  with  its  steeper  gradient  may  discharge 
its  excess  before  the  run-off  from  Upper  Mississippi  drainage  area  reaches 
Grafton,  while  Illinois  rainfall  with  an  increment  from  Chicago  drainage 
canal  maintains  an  equable  flow.  This  may  be  the  case  and  the  resulting 
stage  quite  satisfactory,  while  the  quality  of  water  entering  the  intake 
at  St.  Louis,  derived  from  Missouri  River,  or  from  a  blending  of  Upper 
Mississippi  River  with  Missouri  River  or  with  Illinois  River  water, 
presents  extreme  difficulties  in  treatment.  For,  usually,  Missouri  River 
imparts  its  turbid  character  to  water  flowing  down  the  west  shore  of  the 
Mississippi,  while  a  more  or  less  complete  mixture  of  Upper  Mississippi 
water  with  Illinois  River  water  occupies  the  eastern  side  of  the  channel. 
The  line  of  demarcation  persists  some  distance  below  the  Chain  of  Rocks 
intake,  disappearing  about  7  miles  below,  at  Merchants'  Bridge,  though 
mixing  of  waters  is  still  far  from  complete. 

The  relation  of  source  and  color  of  water  is  illustrated  in  an  oc- 
currence of  last  year.  In  September,  1911,  there  was  an  unusual  precipi- 
tation over  Northern  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  which  caused  a  flood  stage 
in  the  Illinois  River  during  October  and  November,  and  sent  a  wave  of 
colored  water  from  the  forested  regions  of  Wisconsin  down  the  Upper 
Mississippi.  Rainfall  along  the  Missouri  was  so  light  that  the  character 
of  water  at  our  intake  was  practically  that  of  the  Upper  Mississippi. 
The  result  was  that  muddy  Missouri  River  water  occupied  a  shallow 
restricted  strip  down  the  west  bank  of  the  River,  about  1200  feet  wide, 
while  the  rest  of  the  bed  and  channel  was  occupied  by  a  coffee  colored 
liquid  (true  and  apparent  color)  representing  almost  four-fifths  of  the 


38  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


combined  discharge  of  the  three  rivers.  The  intake  tower  of  St.  Louis 
Water  Works  was  for  days  completely  surrounded  by  the  deeply  colored 
flood,  displaced  only  after  rainfall  on  Missouri  drainage  area  had  in- 
creased the  relative  weight  of  that  discharge. 

Consideration  of  the  diagram  1  will  make  clear  the  relation  of  stage 
in  the  three  rivers  at  gauging  points  next  above  St.  Louis  to  the  occur- 
rence of  high  color  and  high  suspended  matter.  With  Missouri  (Her- 
mann gauge)  running  out  strongly  prior  to  the  20th  of  October,  sus- 
pended solids  are  very  high,  and  the  color  30  or  less.  Between  the 
20th  and  25th  Mississippi  (Keokuk  stage)  is  in  the  ascendant,  and,  with 
rapid  decline  in  suspended  solids,  the  color  rises,  remaining  high  until 
well  toward  the  end  of  November,  when  Hermann  gauge  readings  rise 
following  heavy  rains  on  Missouri  River.  The  curve  of  magnesium  in 
the  second  diagram  is  of  especial  interest.  Magnesium  varies  inversely 
as  the  St.  Louis  stage;  it  follows  color  only  as  the  latter  is  affected  by 
variations  in  Missouri  stage.  High  color  is  related  to  stages  of  Upper 
Mississippi  only. 

Daily  determinations  of  color  in  the  water  supply  have  been  made  in 
this  laboratory  for  the  past  six  years.  In  almost  every  year  serious 
trouble  has  arisen  because  of  the  disturbance  of  balance  in  discharges 
of  the  rivers.  High  color  may  occur  in  any  month  of  the  year.  The 
fact  that  it  had  occurred  at  times  in  the  Chain  of  Rocks  supply  was  com- 
mented upon  in  the  "Report  on  the  Water  Supply  of  the  City  of  St. 
Louis  by  the  Commission  of  Hydraulic  Engineers"  in  1902,  but  their  con- 
sideration of  it  was  based  upon  meager  data.  Most  of  the  discussion 
under  the  topic  of  color  in  the  majority  report  is  taken  up  with  the 
relation  of  color  and  albuminoid  ammonia.  Insufficient  data  prevented 
adequate  consideration  of  the  matter  in  1902,  and  in  the  period  prior  to 
the  World's  Fair  in  1903-1904  in  connection  with  the  plan  of  treatment 
selected,  color  removal  was  not  considered.  This  may  have  been  because 
color  determinations  were  not  made  at  Quincy  where  the  pioneer  work 
on  iron  and  lime  treatment  was  done.  Data  available  shows  that  color 
reduction  is  frequently  a  serious  problem  not  only  in  cities  on  the 
Upper  Mississippi,  but  even  below  the  confluence  of  the  eastern  and 
western  rivers  with  the  northern  one,  which  must  be  taken  into  account 
in  any  plan  for  treatment  adapted  to  all  conditions  of  such  a  variable 
water  as  the  Saint  Louis  supply.* 

Peculiar  interest  attaches  to  data  on  color  at  points  on  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi River  during  the  past  year  in  their  bearing  upon  the  frequency 
of  occurrence  of  high  color  at  the  present  intake  and  the  probable  occur- 
rence in  the  future  when  a  portion  of  our  supply  shall  be  drawn  from  a 
point  650  feet  east  and  300  feet  up  stream  from  the  present  tower.  For 


"From  a  paper  on  "Color  in  Mississippi  River  at  St.  Louis,"  proceedings 
Illinois  Water  Supply  Association,  1912. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  39 


DIA6RAM     NO.  I 

COMPARISON  OF  CHEMICAL.  AND   PHYSICAL  DATA 
WITH  THE  STAGE  OF  RIVERS. 

09") 

OCTOBER  NIOVCMBKR 

5         10         is        to       25       so  i       5         10         15        to        es       so 


lU 


22 


•I 


::::-.:;;;:..;;.  v::i: 


40 


REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


Rock  Island,  111.,  the  following  data  is  presented  through  the  courtesy 
of  Mr.  Lewis  I.  Birdsall,  superintendent  of  filtration  at  that  point. 
Other  data  are  from  determinations  made  in  this  laboratory. 

Table  1 — Comparison  of  Color  in  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Rivers. 


Mississippi  River. 

Missouri  River. 
St.  Charles,  Mo. 

Rock  Island. 

St.  Louis  Intake. 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver. 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver. 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver. 

June,  1911 
July 
Aug. 
Sept. 
Oct. 
Nov. 
Dec. 
Jan.,  1912 

120 
50 
50 
70 
140 
140 
70 

60 
35 
35 

30 
50 
30 
40 

74 
41 
42 
43 
91 
86 
59 

40 
30 
31 
35 
115 
115 
35 
115 
35 
60 
35 
35 
35 
30 
30 
60 
30 

18 
18 
18 
18 
18 
30 
25 
25 
?S 
Id 
25 
28 
28 
28 
25 
25 
18 

29 
29 
24 
24 
84 
66 
30 
39 
28 
35 
30 
30 
32 
29 
27 
36 
24 

28 
32   ' 

'26 
18 
20 

13 

12 

'15 

14 
12 

19 
16 

'ie 

15 
15 

Feb 

March 
April 
May 
June 
July        ; 
Aug. 
Sept. 
Oct. 

70 
60 
250 
170 
200 
250 
160 
100 

35 

30 
45 
50 
40 
80 
50 
40 

42 
48 
102 
118 
114 
121 
100 
61 

The  difference  in  character  of  samples  taken  at  points  across  the 
river  is  shown  in  observations  made  while  this  report  was  in  preparation. 
Sampling  points  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks  were  midway  between  the  west 
shore  and  the  intake,  at  the  intake,  and  in  the  channel  east  of  our  intake 
tower.  Samples  from  the  Missouri  at  St.  Charles,  for  the  same  days, 
were  examined.  The  tabulated  results  show  that  on  September  21  and 
following  days,  Missouri  River  contributed  about  three-fourths  of  the 
water  in  the  west  samples,  and  about  one-half  of  that  entering  the  intake. 
The  difference  in  turbidity  of  various  samples  was  very  marked,  and 
the  color  at  the  intake  and  in  the  channel  to  the  eastward  was  pro- 
nounced. The  sampling  point  "east  of  intake"  is  the  approximate  loca- 
tion approved  by  the  U.  S.  Engineers  for  the  new  intake.  It  is  evident 
that  troubles  incident  to  treating  highly  colored  water  will  be  increased 
when  the  new  intake  is  put  into  service. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


41 


Table  2 — Comparison  of  Missouri  and  Mississippi  River  waters. 


Date. 
1912. 

Source. 

Turbidity. 

Sus- 
pended 
Solids. 

Color. 

Alka- 
linity. 

Sept  21  

Missouri  River.  . 

2000 

2360 

15 

113 

Sept.  22  

Mississippi  R.  .  . 
Missouri  River.  . 

West 
Intake 
East 

2000 
1800 
400 

i      1890 
1290 
400 

35 
60 
105 

108 
92 
81 

Sept.  23  

Mississippi  R.  .  . 
Missouri  River.  . 

West 
Intake 
East 

1500 
1500 
300 
2000 

2250 

35 
60 
105 
15 

100 
87 
85 
113 

1 
Sept.  24  

Mississippi  R.  .  . 
Missouri  River  . 

West 
Intake 
East 

2000 
1500 
400 
2000 

i260 
560 
2130 

45 
60 
110 
16 

101 
90 
82 
118 

Sept.  25  

Mississippi  R.  .  . 
Missouri  River.  . 

West 
Intake 
East 

1500 
1500 
400 
1800 

1740 
1190 
295 
1140 

40 
60 
90 
15 

102 
94 
85 
122 

Sept.  26  

Mississippi  R.  .  . 
Missouri  River.  . 

West 
Intake 
East 

1500 
1500 
160 
1800 

i2io 

220 
1710 

40 
50 
110 
15 

110 
103 
89 
122 

Sept  27  

Mississippi  R.  .  . 
Missouri  River 

West 
Intake 
East 

1800 
1800 
150 
1500 

1740 
1250 
225 
1540 

20 
45 
100 
15 

111 
103 
90 
125 

Sept.  28  

Mississippi  R.  .  . 
Missouri  River.  . 

West 
Intake 
East 

1500 
1500 
240 
1500 

1240 
1360 

20 
40 
80 
15 

110 
105 
96 
128 

Mississippi  R.  .  . 

West 
Intake 
East 

1300 
1200 
240 

i620 

30 
40 
80 

120 
110 
99 

QUALITY  OF  WATER  :     MINERALIZATION  :     SUSPENDED  SOLIDS. 

The  ground  water  of  each  portion  of  a  river's  course  brings  to  the 
channel  a  solution  of  fairly  constant  composition  for  any  one  locality, 
representing  in  a  way  the  chemical  composition  of  strata  penetrated  by 
this  portion  of  the  rainfall  in  its  flow  to  the  river.  From  the  surface 
formation  some  material  is  carried  by  rapid  run-off  after  rains,  or 
scoured  from  the  river  bed  by  swift  currents;  the  suspended  solids  are 
an  expression  of  the  soil  character  and  the  topography  of  a  basin,  and 
vary  with  the  stage ;  dissolved  solids  of  a  given  stream  will  be  most  con- 
centrated at  the  lowest  stage  and  suffer  dilution  by  less  highly  mineral- 
ized flood  water.  This  general  relation  is  exhibited  in  the  diagram  fol- 
lowing. (See  p.  42.) 

MINERALIZATION. 

Upper  Mississippi  River,  deriving  its  ground  water  partly  from  a 
glaciated  area,  partly  from  a  sandstone  district,  flows  by  a  series  of  pools 
and  rapids  to  join  the  lower  rivers.  Illinois  River,  draining  a  glaciated 
almost  level  district  under  cultivation,  receives  a  considerable  volume 
of  lake  water  with  a  portion  of  the  sewage  of  Chicago,  which  increases 
its  mineral  content,  particularly  sulphates  and  chlorides.  Missouri 
River  receives  a  large  contribution  from  a  similar  glacial  drift,  and 
from  the  regions  of  lower  rainfall  it  carries  a  characteristic  burden  of 
dissolved  matter,  while  because  of  its  steeper  gradient  its  suspended 
matter  has  slight  opportunity  for  precipitation  and  is  thus  brought  to  the 
confluence  of  the  three  rivers  five  and  a  half  miles  above  the  Chain  of 


42 


REPORT  OF  THK  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


SOL.IDS. 


Diagram  2 — Relation  of  Solids  to  Stage. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


43 


Bocks.  In  1906-1907  the  waters  of  these  rivers  were  sampled  daily  at 
Ruegg,  Mo.  (Fort  Belief  on  taine),  at  Kampsville,  at  Quincy,  and  Chester, 
111.,  and  ten  day  composites  analyzed  by  representatives  of  the  U.  S. 
Geological  Survey.*  The  averages  for  the  entire  year  are  given  in 
Table  3,  with  averages  for  St.  Louis  for  the  same  period,  taken  from  our 
records. 

Table   3 — Comparison    of   Analyses   of   Missouri,    Mississippi   and 
Illinois. 


Miss.  R. 
at  Quincy. 

111.  R. 
at  Kamps- 
ville. 

Mo.  R. 
at  Ruegg. 

Miss.  R. 
at 
Chester. 

St.  Louis 
Intake. 

Turbidity  

173 

188 

1931 

585 

1253 

Suspended   Solids    .... 
Coefficient  of  Fineness 
Calcium    (Ca)    .    ... 

119 
.8 
36 

145 

.8 
47 

1890 
1.02 
52 

634 

.8 
44 

1333 
1.02 
45 

Magnesium   (Mg)    .... 
Sodium    (Na)     

16 
11 

20 
18 

16 
36 

16 

21 

16 
27 

Bicarbonate  (HCQ3)     . 
Sulphates  (SCM)     

175 
25 

202 
42 

178 
104 

174 
56 

172 
62 

Nitrates    (NO3)      

2.2 

4.2 

2.9 

2.7 

2.7 

Chlorine  (CO       

4.4 

15 

12 

9.8 

12 

Dissolved   Solids    

203 

267 

346 

269 

271 

The  year  covered  by  these  analyses  (October,  1906-August,  1907) 
was  one  of  less  than  normal  precipitation.  Still  they  illustrate  the  essen- 
tial differences  in  quality  of  the  three  waters.  The  predominance  of  Mis- 
souri River  water  at  our  intake  is  measured  by  higher  averages  for 
sulphates,  sodium  and  suspended  solids,  as  compared  with  averages  for 
the  other  rivers  at  Quincy  and  Kampsville ;  its  obvious  character  of  high 
turbidity  affects  our  supply.  In  the  blended  water  entering  our  intake, 
the  average  of  suspended  solids  for  that  year  indicates  that  approxi- 
mately three-fourths  of  our  supply  was  derived  from  the  western  river. 

Very  great  departures  from  the  averages  appear  in  the  detail  of 
analyses.  In  samples  from  Quincy  the  range  of  suspended  matter  was 
from  24  to  294  parts  per  million;  in  Missouri  River,  from  296  to  6330 
parts;  and  at  our  intake  from  174  to  4200  parts  per  million.  Similar 
departures  from  averages  are  recorded  for  dissolved  solids,  equally  well 
marked  for  sulphates  and  for  sodium. 

In  later  years  of  greater  and  of  less  precipitation  even  wider  di- 
vergences occur.  Suspended  solids  in  our  raw  water  have  been  as  high 
as  8000  for  a  single  day,  and  as  low  as  14.  In  1911  for  six  consecutive 
days  in  July  suspended  matter  in  our  samples  was  in  excess  of  4000  parts 
per  million.  The  range  of  these  variations  is  given  in  a  subsequent 
table.  (Table  13.) 

As  represented  in  Table  3,  the  suspended  matter  at  our  intake  agrees 
in  fineness  with  that  of  Missouri  River  on  the  average.  In  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi and  Illinois  Rivers  the  matter  transported  is  very  much  finer, 
and  much  more  difficult  of  removal,  while  the  coarse  and  fine  material 
carried  from  Missouri  River  responds  much  more  quickly  to  sedimenta- 
tion with  or  without  coagulation. 


*Water  Supply  Paper  236. 


44 


REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


The  quantity  of  suspended  matter  removed  from  the  day's  supply 
has  been  as  high  as  100  tons  per  hour  for  several  consecutive  days.  The 
problem  presented  by  this  very  large  amount  of  matter  which  must  be 
taken  care  of  in  clarification  is  simplified  by  the  relative  coarseness  of 
the  matter  carried,  and  the  rapidity  of  its  sedimentation. 

This  is  the  explanation  of  the  difference  in  suspended  solids  in  Mis- 
souri River  samples  and  in  intake  samples  cited  in  the  first  table.  A 
large  percentage  of  the  sand  carried  by  Missouri  River  deposits  below 
mouth,  and  not  infrequently  (as  on  the  26th  of  September,  1912)  is 
again  scoured  from  the  bed  of  the  main  stream  when  the  stage  has 
changed  and  the  course  of  currents  shifted.  A  notable  instance  of  this 
shifting  occurred  in  1911,  when  the  channel  of  Mississippi  River  moved 
several  hundred  feet  in  the  course  of  the  summer. 

In  dissolved  solids  and  in  hardness,  the  waters  of  the  three  rivers 
show  gradations  representative  of  the  respective  ground  waters. 

Table  4 — Comparison  of  Hardness  in  Component  Rivers. 


Non- 

Dissolved 

Carbonate 

Total 

Solids. 

Hardness. 

Hardness. 

Hardness. 

Miss.  River 

—  Quincv  

203 

141 

15 

156 

111.  River  .  .    . 

—  Kampsville..  . 

267 

161 

40 

201 

Mo.  River   .    . 

—  Rue^g,  Mo.  .  .  . 

346 

143 

53 

196 

Miss.  River     . 

—  Chester  

269 

141 

31 

176 

Miss.  River 

—  Intake  

271 

141 

36 

177 

The  larger  quantity  of  dissolved  matter  carried  by  Missouri  River 
is  due  to  sodium  salts,  sulphates  and  chlorides  taken  up  in  the  passage 
of  rain  water  through  alkaline  soils,  which,  because  of  the  lower 
rainfall,  have  been  less  leached  out  in  the  course  of  centuries  than  the 
more  thoroughly  washed  soils  of  the  glaciated  region  of  Minnesota,  Iowa, 
Missouri  and  Illinois,  lying  in  the  main  north  of  Missouri  River  and  a 
line  passing  eastward  through  Saint  Louis. 

In  total  hardness  Illinois  River  water  is  slightly  above  Missouri, 
and  both  much  higher  than  Upper  Mississippi,  while  the  water  supply 
of  Saint  Louis,  representing  a  combination  of  the  three  waters,  occupies 
an  intermediate  place. 

Because  of  variations  in  the  relative  discharge  of  these  rivers,  pro- 
portional variations,  both  seasonal  and  annual,  occur  in  the  various 
forms  of  hardness,  from  one-half  to  double  the  averages  given. 

QUALITY  OP  WATERS:     ORGANISMS. 

In  regard  to  the  presence  of  bacterial  life  in  the  stream  under  con- 
sideration there  is  much  to  be  said  against  each.  All  are  contaminated 
by  sewage  discharge.  With  adequate  treatment  a  safe  water  may  be 
prepared  for  distribution  from  any  one  of  these  sources.  The  Mississippi 
is  the  source  of  supply  for  Burlington,  Dubuque,  Rock  Island,  Moline, 
Davenport.  Quincv,  Hannibal  and  Louisiana.  Missouri  River  furnishes 
the  municipal  supply  of  St.  Joseph,  Kansas  City,  Independence,  Mo., 
and  of  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  and  of  several  smaller  cities.  The  supply  of 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  45 

East  St.  Louis  is  taken  from  an  incomplete  blending  of  the  waters 
of  the  Missouri  with  those  of  the  other  rivers. 

So  far  as  larger  forms  of  plant  and  animal  life  are  concerned,  our 
experience  goes  to  show  that  organisms  abundant  in  clearer  waters  dur- 
ing the  early  summer  do  not  multiply  to  a  troublesome  extent  under 
prevailing  conditions.  Acute  troubles  from  fresh  water  sponges  and 
other  organisms  causing  obnoxious  odors  and  tastes  occur  in  clear  water 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  below  the  Missouri's  mouth.  The 
turbidity  of  Missouri  River  in  spring  and  summer  months  limits  the  de- 
velopment of  organisms  whose  propagation  is  favored  by  light.  In  par- 
tially softened  water  the  growth  of  algae  generally  is  retarded ;  although 
anabaena,  beggiatoa  and  crenothrix  occur  in  the  untreated  water,  growth 
in  the  basins  is  negligible.  Occasionally  some  development  of  spirogyra 
has  been  noticed,  and  a  slight  development  of  oscillaria  is  common ;  none 
of  the  algae  have  ever  given  any  trouble  in  our  sedimentation  basins. 

PRESENT  METHOD  OP  TREATMENT. 

The  chemical  reagents  now  in  use  are  lime  and  sulphate  of  iron. 
Sulphate  of  iron  is  very  effective  in  coagulating  suspended  matter  in 
turbid  waters.  For  color  removal,  however,  it  is  not  very  efficient.  In 
the  presence  of  dissolved  organic  (coloring)  matter  iron  is  held  in  solu- 
tion ;  its  precipitation  as  ferric  hydroxide  is  considerably  retarded,  even 
when  large  additions  of  lime  are  used  in  treatment  of  such  a  water.  The 
efficiency  of  iron  sulphate  as  a  coagulant  is  therefore  materially  reduced 
under  such  conditions.  The  very  fine  suspended  matter  which  character- 
izes Upper  Mississippi  River  water  does  not  respond  to  increased  charges ; 
the  treated  wrater  retains  in  solution  and  suspension  as  much  as  5  parts 
per  million  of  iron,  which  gives  a  red  brown  color  to  the  effluent  from 
hot  water  faucets,  discolors  the  seams  of  white  goods  in  laundries,  and 
is  in  divers  ways  a  source  of  annoyance  to  household  consumers,  not 
only  because  of  the  organic  matter  originally  present  in  the  river  water, 
but  by  reason  of  the  additional  iron  held  in  solution  and  colloidal  sus- 
pension by  it. 

Lime  is  effective  in  removal  of  a  portion  of  the  carbonate  hardness 
of  the  raw  water,  precipitating  calcium  and  magnesium  carbonates,  pro- 
ducing a  softening  desirable  when  the  carbonate  hardness  exceeds  100 
parts  per  million.  The  partial  reduction  of  calcium  with  a  smaller 
reduction  of  magnesium  in  connection  with  coagulation  has  proved  suc- 
cessful and  economical;  the  degree  of  softening  accomplished  being  al- 
ways incidental  to  coagulation.  Increase  in  the  charge  of  lime  above 
that  required  to  react  with  the  carbonate  hardness  increases  the  total 
hardness  without  precipitating  magnesium  until  a  considerable  excess 
of  lime  has  been  added,  giving  a  strong  caustic  reaction,  when  a  portion 
of  the  magnesium  is  precipitated  as  hydroxide.  In  1905-1906  this  was 
apparently  of  common  occurrence,  involving  a  waste  of  lime  amounting 
in  some  cases  to  two  or  more  grains  per  gallon.  While  a  more  rapid 
precipitation  of  ferric  hydroxide  results,  and  the  precipitated  mag- 


46  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


nesium  hydroxide  is  also  a  coagulant,  the  practice  is  not  to  be  com- 
mended, because  of  the  persistence  of  caustic  alkalinity  through  the  dis- 
tribution system :  causing  precipitation  upon  mixing  with  less  heavily 
treated  waters. 

For  the  purpose  of  color  reduction  the  action  of  lirne  in  precipi- 
tating calcium  carbonate  is  of  no  avail.  In  so  far  as  magnesium  car- 
Inmate  is  precipitated  and  prevented  from  redissolving  from  the  sludge 
an  effective  agent  for  color  removal  is  provided.  It  has  been  shown 
above  (Diagram  1)  that  when  high  color  prevails  magnesium  is  not  pro- 
portionately increased ;  rather,  high  color  is  in  this  case  characteristic 
of  a  stream  whose  ground  water  is  low  in  magnesium  as  compared  with 
that  of  Missouri  River,  and  especially  low  at  times  of  flood  because  of 
dilution  with  unmineralized  water;  for  dissolved  matter  varies  inversely 
with  the  stage.  It  follows  that  when  magnesium  is  most  needed  for 
color  reduction  there  is  least  of  it  available.  Magnesium  carbonate  is  our 
effective  agent  for  color  removal.  The  hydroxide  precipitated  by  a  large 
excess  of  lime  is  of  little  value  for  this  purpose ;  it  has  been  found  that 
with  caustic  reaction  through  the  basins,  a  color  of  100  was  not  reduced 
below  50  parts  per  million  of  the  platinum  scale. 

Considering  the  fact  that  the  predominance  of  colored  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi water  at  our  intake  is  of  frequent  occurrence  and  that  the  period 
of  such  occurrences  may  be  indefinitely  prolonged,  it  becomes  necessary 
that  our  plant  should  be  in  readiness  on  occasion  to  apply  sulphate  of 
alumina,  which  forms  an  insoluble  hydroxide  holding  permanently  the 
coloring  matter  which  it  once  carries  down.  Because  of  the  relative 
slowness  of  its  precipitation  the  use  of  alum  is  not  adapted  to  our  method 
of  treatment,  using  sedimentation  only.  Moreover,  under  present  con- 
ditions, by  reason  of  its  solvent  action  on  previously  deposited  iron  com- 
pounds, its  prolonged  use  would  lead  to  the  introduction  of  a  new  trouble 
caused  by  persistence  of  dissolved  iron  in  our  finished  water.  Precipi- 
tation of  aluminum  hydroxide  is  retarded  by  high  color,  as  are  all  agents 
for  color  removal,  but  it  remains  the  most  effective  reagent  available  for 
the  purpose. 

However  much  or  little  importance  high  color  may  have  from  an 
aesthetic  standpoint,  no  small  weight  attaches  to  its  inhibition  of  coagu- 
lation, which  results  in  an  imperfectly  clarified  water,  holding  in  solution 
unusual  amounts  of  iron  compounds,  which  only  extremely  high  caustic 
can  remove.  The  operation  of  the  plant  has  been  embarrassed  by  the 
color  problem  about  19  per  cent  of  the  time  in  the  last  six  years.  On 
463  days  of  the  2400  since  regular  determinations  have  been  made  in  this 
laboratory,  the  color  of  raw  water  at  our  intake  has  been  40  parts  or 
more  per  million. 

PRESENT  CLARIFICATION  PLANT. 

A  coagulant  house  ample  for  treating  with  lime  and  iron  sulphate 
more  than  160  million  gallons  per  day,  with  a  series  of  unbaffled  basins, 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


47 


'constitutes  the  present  clarification  plant.  Water  lifted  by  the  low 
service  pumps  to  the  delivery  well  flows  with  its  charge  of  chemicals  to 
the  basins. 

A  filling  conduit  dividing  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  basin  sys- 
tem connects  on  the  west  side  with  each  of  six  masonry  basins ;  the  branch 
is  connected  by  four  gates  with  the  most  northerly  of  this  series,  and 
extends  eastward  to  the  nearest  (No.  9)  of  a  parallel  series  of  three  new 
reinforced  concrete  basins.  Between  the  new  and  old  series  of  basins 
and  connected  with  each  unit  is  a  masonry  conduit.  Water  which  has 
received  chemical  treatment  may  pass  to  any  one  or  all  of  the  masonry 
basins  or  to  Basin  9.  The  present  practice  uses  only  Basins  1,  6  or  9 
for  filling.  The  six  masonry  basins  are  each  670x400  feet  long:  their 
capacity  is  about  25  million  gallons  each ;  weirs  between  successive  basins 
are  610  feet  long.  The  sixth  basin  is  connected  by  a  duct  near  the 
surface  with  Basin  7  (40  million  gallons  capacity)  whence  flow  is  over 
successive  weirs  to  Basins  8  and  9,  which  have  a  capacity  of  about  20 
million  gallons  each.  The  total  capacity  of  both  new  and  old  basins 
is  approximately  230  million  gallons.  The  total  area  of  water  surface  is 
about  52  acres. 

Operating  results  make  it  apparent  that  the  clarification  plant  is 
inadequate  to  furnish  the  volume  of  water  now  required  by  consumers. 
The  installation  of  larger  and  more  effective  pumps  at  Chain  of  Rocks 
Station,  does  not  in  any  way  increase  the  capacity  of  the  plant  to  deliver 
a  satisfactory  clear  water.  Nor  does  installation  of  more  high  service 
pumps  and  distribution  lines  remove  the  essential  difficulty  which  has 
been  apparent  every  summer  for  several  years,  and  all  the  more  marked 
during  the  past  three  summers  of  extraordinary  consumption,  when  sus- 
pended matter  in  the  river  water  has  been  very  much  above  the  normal. 

The  capacity  of  the  plant  to  furnish  a  satisfactory  effluent  may  be 
judged  by  the  degree  of  success  attained  in  treatment  of  different  waters 
to  meet  the  day's  consumption.  The  records  of  this  laboratory  afford 
but  twelve  determinations  of  suspended  solids  in  river  and  clear  well 
samples  during  the  year  1904-1905,  of  which  two  must  be  discarded. 
All  are  given  in  the  table  with  consumption  for  their  respective  dates : 

TABLE  5. 


1904-1905. 

Suspended  Solids. 

Daily 
Consumption 
Million  Gals. 

River. 

Clear  Well. 

April  1  

1M  11' 

1717 
3753 
1694 
800 
1268 
578 
376 
208 
181 
2478 
990 

97.5 
25 
32.5 
43.6    . 
15 
22 
12 
2 
10 
-9.2 
-4.4 
0 

.;  7  .  :, 
74.8 
87.9 
95.6 
89.8 
91.1 
81.7 
77.3 
71.2 
79.8 
73.7 
70.4 

May  30    

June  30    

July   30    

August    30    

September    30    

October  31    

November  30    

December  31    

January    31    

February  28   

April  1  

48 


REPORT  OF  THE   WATER  COMMISSIONER 


In  the  absence  of  any  evidence  to  the  contrary  it  is  assumed  that 
the  scattered  analyses  are  representative  of  the  working  of  the  plant. 
Treatment  was  begun  on  March  22.  1!)04;  the  first  recorded  result  nine 
days  later  suggests  the  inadequacy  of  the  plant  to  clarify  67  million 
gallons  per  day  when  the  suspended  matter  is  2400.  For  97.5  parts  per 
million  of  suspended  matter  in  the  finished  water  indicates  the  introduc- 
tion into  the  distribution  system  on  the  corresponding  day  of  27.5  tons 
of  solids.  It  is  possible  that  this  result  was  abnormal,  because  mud 
previously  deposited  in  conduits  and  clear  well  may  have  been  loosened 
by  the  flow.  The  second  result  two  months  later  shows  improved  work- 
ing, but  suggests  that  75  million  gallons  could  not  be  handled  when  the 
suspended  matter  exceeded  1700.  According  to  present  standards  the 
only  passable  results  in  the  first  twelve  months  of  operation  are  those 
of  November  30,  and  April  1,  1905,  when  the  river  solids  were  less 
than  1000  and  the  daily  consumption  uncUjr  80  million  gallons.  Under 
other  conditions  the  finished  water  contained  notable  amounts  of  solid 
matter.  High  consumption  during  the  World's  Fair  period  overtaxed 
the  new  clarification  plant  the  entire  summer. 

In  the  second  year  of  operation  results  are  generally  better.  How- 
ever, 130  examinations  for  suspended  matter  are  recorded,  of  which  40 
are  minus  quantities  for  clear  well  samples.  Figures  given  are  averages 
of  130  determinations  for  river  and  90  for  clear  well.  Average  daily 
consumption  for  each  month  is  from  high  service  pumping: 

TABLE  6. 


1905-1906. 

Average   Suspended    Solids 
Parts  Per  Million. 

Average  Daily 
Consumption 
Million 
Gallons. 

River. 

Clear  Well. 

April  . 

1962 
1809 
2845 
1950 
2056 
1015 
603 
386 
611 
649 
641 

i2!i 
2.7 
7.4 
12. 
11. 
5.8 
5.2 
9.0 
9.2 
7.1 
7.7 

67.0 
69.5 
78.4 
75.8 
77.9 
73.7 
68.7 
64.0 
63.0 
62.6 
65.2 
62.2 

Mav  

June  

July  

August  

September  

October  

November  

December  

January  

February  

March  

1320 

8.2 

69.0 

Compared  with  the  new  standard  set  by  the  previous  year,  these 
results  are  good.  Apparently  lower  consumption  favored  better  opera- 
tion; although  the  occurrence  of  so  many  impossible  results  (minus 
quantities)  makes  interpretation  of  results  difficult.  The  records  show 
that  from  June  to  January,  inclusive,  high  caustic  alkalinity  was  carried 
in  the  treated  water.  This  is  perhaps  the  explanation  of  the  high  sus- 
pended solids  recorded,  which  seem  to  indicate  somewhat  less  than  80 
millions  as  the  maximum  capacity  of  the  plant  when  the  river  was  carry- 
ing 1800  parts  of  solids. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  49 

The  writer  specifically  disclaims  any  responsibility  for  the  fore- 
going results  of  operation  and  analytical  data.  Results  for  subsequent 
years  recorded  in  appended  table  (Table  12)  were  determined  under 
his  direction,  and  are  believed  to  represent  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy 
the  working  of  the  plant.  Averages  are  given  in  lieu  of  rehearsal  of  the 
full  detail  of  determinations  made  on  all  save  holidays.  Inasmuch  as 
total  displacement  of  water  in  the  entire  basin  system  requires  from 
seven  to  fifteen  days,  the  averages  by  months  of  operation  better  repre- 
sent the  blended  waters  issuing  from  the  clear  well  to  the  distribution 
system.  They  are  plotted  in  Diagram  3  in  sequence  with  those  of 
1905-1906. 

The  diagram  shows  graphically  that  when  suspended  solids  in  raw 
water  were  below  1500  parts  per  million  and  consumption  did  not  ex- 
ceed 75  million  gallons  per  day,  the  average  of  suspended  solids  in  clear 
well  water  was  usually  not  more  than  one  or  two  parts  per  million, 
increasing  slightly  with  a  rise  in  either  river  solids  or  consumption,  and 
greatly  increased  with  concurrent  rise  in  both. 

It  is  noticeable  that  when  pumpage  was  much  above  75  million 
gallons  and  river  solids  greatly  exceeded  1500  parts  the  quality  of  the 
treated  water  was  seriously  changed  for  the  worse.  In  general  the 
curve  of  the  suspended  solids  in  treated  water  reflects  the  effect  of  high 
river  solids  and  high  consumption,  following  one  or  both  in  extreme 
cases,  and  illustrating  the  fact  that  these  two  uncontrollable  factors  pro- 
duce conditions  which  the  present  plant  can  not  meet.  It  appears  that 
a  raw  water  carrying  not  more  than  1500  parts  of  suspended  matter  can 
be  made  acceptable  to  the  public  of  St.  Louis  so  long  as  the  consumption 
does  not  exceed  75  to  80  million  gallons  per  day.  In  confirmation  of  the 
foregoing  estimate  of  the  capacity  of  the  plant,,  numerous  eases  might 
be  cited:  In  June,  1909,  filling  in  Basin  1  and  drawing  from  Basin  6, 
when  suspended  solids  in  the  river  approximated  1500  for  five  days, 
with  consumption  between  70  and  80  million  gallons,  the  clear  well  for 
the  week  following  the  five-day  period  contained  1  or  less  parts  per 
million  of  suspended  matter. 

The  assumption  that  the  capacity  of  the  plant  varies  inversely  as 
the  suspended  matter  suggests  the  following  values,  which  may  be  ac- 
cepted provisionally : 


Suspended  Solids. 

1000  parts  per  million. 

1500  parts  per  million. 

2000  parts  per  million. 

2500  parts  per  million. 

3000  parts  per  million. 

3500  parts  per  million. 

4000  parts  per  million.  —  0 

4500  parts  per  million.  27     million  gallons. 

5000  parts  per  million.  25     million  gallons. 

6000  parts  per  million.  20     million  gallons. 

Comparison  of  records  confirms  the  provisional  estimates  for  low 


Capacity  of  Plant. 

120*  million  gallons. 

80*  million  gallons. 

60*  million  gallons. 

50*  million  gallons. 

40     million  gallons. 

36     million  gallons. 

30*  million  gallons. 


50 


KKPOKT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


service  pumpage  corresponding  to  the  figures  starred.  They  may  be  ac- 
cepted for  the  range  of  suspended  solids  from  1000  to  2500.  Above  2500 
parts  they  cannot  be  confirmed  from  experience,  because  our  pumpage 
is  rarely  below  60,000,000  when  the  suspended  solids  are  high. 

In  Diagram  I],  showing  monthly  averages  of  suspended  solids  and 
daily  consumption,  it  is  apparent  that  in  1!)05  to  1910  consumption  ex- 
ceeded 75,000,000  gallons  per  day  only  in  the  summer  and  fall  months, 
while  in  15)11  and  1912  the  average  daily  consumption  has  rarely  fallen 
below  this  figure  at  any  time.  The  rise  in  river  stage  caused  by  rains  of 
late  spring  and  summer  brings  high  average  suspended  solids  in  the  raw 
water;  for  suspended  solids  vary  with  the  stage.  Coincident  with  these 
times  of  high  turbidity  comes  the  heaviest  draught  upon  the  distribution 
system,  when  lawns  are  to  be  sprinkled  and  the  greatest  waste  of  water 
occurs.  It  is  unfortunately  true  that  periods  of  highest  turbidity  are 
generally  synchronous  with  periods  of  highest  consumption. 

EFFICIENCY  OF  CLARIFICATION. 

When  a  water  properly  treated  is  passed  through  the  basins  97  to 
99  per  cent  of  the  suspended  matter  is  precipitated  in  the  first  basin, 
the  percentage  removal  depending  upon  the  character  and  quantity  of 
solids  contained,  the  temperature,  wind  velocity,  and  direction,  and  the 
amount  of  sludge  in  the  filling  basin.  In  passing  succeeding  basins  the 
remaining  suspended  matter  undergoes  a  further  reduction  to  one-half 
or  one-sixth,  likewise  dependent  upon  velocity,  size  of  particles,  wind,  and 
temperature.  The  major  portion  of  clarification  is,  however,  accom- 
plished in  the  filling  basin.  There  is  no  provision  for  applying  chemicals 
after  water  enters  the  basins.  Efficiency  of  the  plant,  therefore,  depends 
primarily  upon  the  volume  of  water  which  can  be  satisfactorily  clarified 
in  the  filling  basin. 

The  weight  of  suspended  matter  in  the  effluent  from  successive  basins 
varies  with  the  weight  of  solids  carried  by  the  raw  water.  Some  illustra- 
tions are  given : 

Table  7— Suspended  Solids  in  Effluent  of  Successive  Basins. 


Parts 
Per 
Mill. 

Per 
Cent 
Re- 
moval. 

Parts 
Per 
Mill. 

Per 

Cent 
Re- 
moval. 

Parts 
Per 
Mill. 

Per 
Cent 
Re- 
moval. 

Parts 
Per 
Mill. 

Per 
Cent 
Re- 
moval. 

River 

1444 

3000 

Basin   1.      .  . 

14 

99.01 

47 

98.5 

95 

98 

25 

99  '75 

Basin   2.      .  . 
Basin  3. 
Basin  4. 
Basin  5.      .  . 
Basin   6. 
Basin   7  
Basin   8  

12.1 
8.4 
7.1 
5.8 
5.6 

99.16 
99.4 
99.5 
99.6 
99.6 

21 
14 
12 
10 
10 

99.3 
99.5 
99.6 
99.7 
99.7 

50 
35 
20 
15 
15 

98.8 
99.2 
99.5 
99.7 
99.7 

20 
10 
10 
5 
5 
5 
5 

99.80 
99.90 
99.90 
99.95 
99.95 
99.95 

A  change  of  pumping  from  a  rate  of  60  million  gallons  per  day  to 
90  millions  has  increased  the  suspended  matter  in  the  treated  water  from 
2  to  7  parts  per  million,  and  a  further  sudden  increase  to  120  millions 
per  day  has  caused  a  further  rise  of  10  to  13  parts. 

In  the  spring  when  the  temperature  of  water  in  the  river  and  basins 
is  rising  the  sludge  is  less  subject  to  disturbance  than  when,  as  in  the 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


51 


JULY 


JAN. 
1906 


JULY 


JULY 


JULY 


DIAGRAM  NO.3 


52  REPORT  OF  THE  )YATER  COMMISSIONER 


fall  and  early  winter,  with  falling  temperature,  the  influent  water,  being 
more  dense  than  the  warmer  water  in  the  basins,  passes  downward  over 
the  sludge,  causing  it  to  carry  over  the  weir  from  the  filling  basin. 

In  the  fall,  with  lowering  atmospheric  temperatures,  the  sludge  and 
water  in  the  bottom  of  the  basin  are  sometimes  1  degree  or  more  Fahren- 
heit warmer  than  surface  water  of  basins  and  river.  Circulation  in  the 
basins  therefore  is  effective  in  changing  the  course  of  influent  water 
currents,  making  them  deeper,  and  increasing  the  scour. 

The  sludge  is  further  subject  to  disturbance  by  wave  action  when 
high  winds  prevail  for  a  day  or  two,  as  frequently  occurs  in  March.  In 
such  case  the  amount  of  suspended  matter  carrying  over  the  weir  from 
the  filling  basin  shows  a  marked  increase. 

The  basins  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks  (52  acres)  are  all  uncovered,  all 
used  in  series,  and,  therefore,  subject  to  disturbance  by  each  of  the 
agencies  affecting  their  successful  working. 

CHARACTER  OF  SLUDGE. 

Suspended  matter  with  the  coagulum  produced  by  chemical  treat- 
ment subsides  rapidly,  undergoing  a  change  in  volume  during  its  ac- 
cumulation in  the  bottom  of  the  basins.  Freshly  formed  it  is  loose,  dis- 
seminated through  the  full  volume  of  water  in  which  it  forms;  after  an 
hour  and  a  half  it  occupies  about  3  per  cent,  and  after  24  hours  about 
2  per  cent  of  the  original  volume.  After  this  lapse  of  time  only  the 
newly  precipitated  portions  are  distributed  by  gentle  currents. 

Opening  the  mud  gates  at  8-hour  intervals  seems  to  reduce  the 
sludge  only  near  the  opening,  since  it  follows  in  a  general  way  the  con- 
tour of  the  bottom  of  the  basin,  and  is  of  such  a  consistency  that  it 
does  not  flow  readily  over  the  more  compact  material  of  earlier  sub- 
sidence. The  tendency  is  for  each  new  deposit  to  collect  more  thickly 
upon  the  highest  points  of  the  previous  deposit. 

BACTERIAL  REMOVAL. 

The  effect  of  stirring  from  any  cause  is  of  marked  importance  in  con- 
sideration of  clarification  results ;  still  more  when  bacterial  removals  are 
considered.  It  has  been  stated  that  97  to  99  per  cent  of  the  suspended 
matter  is  precipitated  in  the  first  basin;  with  this  mud  is  precipitated 
about  the  same  per  cent  of  the  bacteria  previously  distributed  through 
the  entire  volume  of  water.  The  concentration  of  bacteria  in  the  sludge 
is,  therefore,  very  great.  Transport  of  sludge  freshly  deposited  results 
in  deferring  precipitation  to  succeeding  basins;  erosion  of  partially 
compacted  sediment  carries  over  into  succeeding  basins  disproportionate 
numbers  of  bacteria  and  sometimes  increases  the  number  contained  in 
water  from  later  basins  above  that  originally  occurring  in  the  untreated 
river  water. 

Illustrating  the  fiction  of  high  winds  when  other  disturbing  elements 
were  wanting,  two  cases  are  cited: 

On  February  17.  190!),  following  two  days  of  heavy  wind;  and  on 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


53 


February  24,   under   like   conditions,   bacteria   in   the  clear  well   and 
sampling  points  next  above  it  gave  the  following  counts: 
Table  8— Effect  of  High  Winds  on  Bacterial  Removals. 


February  17. 

February  24. 

Bacteria 
Per    ccm. 

Percentage 
Removal. 

Bacteria 
Per    ccm. 

Percentage 
Removal. 

River  

24,500* 
1,550* 
1,000 
338 
720 
1,325 
6,563 

93.67% 
95.92 
97.80 
97.06 
94.59 
73.21 

33,725* 
2,470* 
888* 
820 
2,960 
3,475 
13.750 

92.68% 
97.36 
97.57 
91.22 
89.70 
56.26 

Basin  1  

Basin  3  

Basin  5  

Drawing  Gate  

Terminal  Chamber  . 
Tap  

In  this  case  bacteria  of  the  colon  group  were  present  in  samples 
from  the  river  on  the  17th,  and  in  Basins  1  and  3  on  the  24th,  as 
indicated  by  the  star  in  the  table  above.  An  abrupt  change  in  pumping 
on  August  17th,  1912,  with  resulting  disturbance  of  the  rate  of  flow, 
caused  the  sludge  to  carry  its  burden  of  bacteria  through  successive 
basins,  appearing  in  clear  well  on  the  19th,  when  samples  showed  con- 
tamination with  organisms  of  the  colon  group. 

Change  in  the  direction  of  flow  incident  to  cleaning  and  restoring  a 
basin  to  service  affects  both  suspended  solids  and  bacteria  per  cubic  centi- 
meter in  the  finished  water.  Basin  1  was  thus  put  in  service  June  6, 
1912.  The  rise  in  bacteria  in  clear  well  samples  was  from  150  per  ccm. 
on  the  6th,  to  3300  in  the  following  week.  Irregular  pumping  (at  rates 
ranging  from  70  to  120  million  gallons)  was  a  factor  in  producing  bad 
results. 

Table  9 — Increase  of  Bacteria  after  Cleaning  Basins. 

CLEAR  WELL. 


1912. 

Suspended 
Solids. 

Bacteria 
Per  ccm. 

Percentage 
Removal. 

June  6  

15 

150 

99.6 

June  7  

12 

250 

99.6 

June  8  

14 

300 

99.4 

June  9  

June  10  

11 

775 

98.2 

June  11  

12 

1100 

97.2 

June  12  

10 

475 

98.6 

June  13  

11 

2075 

93.0 

June  14  

9 

1500 

94.8 

June  15  . 

10 

3:500 

92.9 

It  is  apparent  that  bacterial  reductions  are  subject  to  disturbance 
from  too  many  factors  to  give  constant  results.  We  have  no  safeguard 
against  turbid,  contaminated  water  under  these  conditions. 

The  river  usually  gives  positive  indications  of  pathogenic  bacteria 
in  .01  cubic  centimeter  samples.  Their  occurrence  in  the  effluent  of  the 
Chain  of  Rocks  basins  was  indicated  in  2.2  per  cent  of  2715  tests  on  one 
cubic  centimeter  in  1911-1912.  For  June,  there  were  14  tests  positive 
in  235 — almost  6  per  cent.  This  is  very  much  higher  than  is  permissible 
in  a  safe  water. 

In  Table  14  appended  are  exhibited  the  maximum,  minimum,  and 
average  numbers  of  bacteria  per  cubic  centimeter  in  samples  from  the 


54 


REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


river.  Basins  1.  :{,  and  5,  drawing  gate,  terminal  chamber,  and  clear 
well  by  months  from  October,  1!)06,  to  March,  1910.  The  very  wide 
divergence  of  results  at  any  one  sampling  point  and  the  extreme  irregu- 
larity of  counts  for  a  given  period  at  various  points  in  the  clarification 
system  shown  in  this  table  make  clear  the  unsatisfactory  character  of 
the  present  clarification  system  as  compared  with  a  purification  plan 
which  would  give  an  uniformly  low  bacterial  count,  and  render  the 
effluent  above  suspicion. 

The  utmost  we  can  hope  for  now  is  a  large  percentage  reduction  of 
bacteria.  We  can  have  no  assurance  that  the  water  which  enters  the 
distribution  system  is  free  from  pathogenic  organisms.  While  the  im- 
provement in  the  character  of  the  water  supply  since  the  introduction 
of  the  clarification  scheme  seems  to  have  reduced  the  typhoid  death 
rate,  which  had  begun  to  increase  after  the  opening  of  the  Chicago 
Drainage  Canal,  the  quality  is  still  far  from  that  of  the  effluent  of  a 
good  filter  plant. 
RESIDUAL  SOLIDS  IN  DISTRIBUTION  SYSTEM. 

Water  leaving  the  clear  well  contains  small  quantities  of  suspended 
and  dissolved  iron  compounds,  small  particles  of  calcium  and  magnesium 
compounds,  and  larger  quantities  of  silt  and  silicious  matter  too  fine  to 
be  deposited  during  rapid  flow  through  the  sedimentation  system.  The 
amount  of  this  material  daily  introduced  into  the  distribution  system 
during  the  first  year  of  operation,  calculated  from  suspended  matter  and 
the  daily  consumption,  was  as  high  as  27.5  tons,  averaging  8.7  tons 
per  day  for  the  ten  analyses  referred  to  above. 

The  average  weight  of  solid  material  in  the  daily  supply  for  suc- 
cessive years  was : 


Tons. 

1904-1905 8.7 

1905-1906 _ 2.35 

1906-1907 1.05 

1907-1908....  .  .31 


Tons. 

1908-1909 _ 5 

1909-1910 34 

1910-1911 92 

1911-1912....  ....1.74 


Comparison  of  suspended  solids  in  the  clear  well  with  those  in  sam- 
ples from  the  tap  at  the  City  Chemist's  laboratory  illustrates  how  this 
deposit  in  the  mains  is  intermittently  displaced. 

Table  10 — Intermittent  Sedimentation  in  Mains.  Suspended  Solids 
in  Parts  per  Million. 


1905-1906. 

Clear  Well. 

Tap  —  City    Chemist's 
Laboratory. 

Maximum. 

Average. 

Maximum. 

Average. 

April   . 

40 
6 
21 
34 
26 

19 

30 

15 
11 
12 

is 

3 

7 
12 
10 
6 
5 
9 
9 
7 
8 

8 
22 
25 
162 
20 
20 
12 
13 
12 
4 
0 
12 

6 
21 
15 
81 
16 
17 
8 
11 
12 
2 
0 
6 

16 

May  

June  .  .  . 

July  

August  

September  . 

October  

November  

December  

January  

February  

March  

S 

TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


It  is  a  matter  of  common  observation  that  after  unusual  draught  upon 
the  mains  in  a  portion  of  the  system,  very  high  turbidity  appears,  local, 
or  affecting  large  sections  of  the  city,  according  to  the  degree  of  the  dis- 
turbance. Following  a  large  fire  complaints  of  turbid  water  are  very 
numerous.  So  long  as  our  practice  continues  sedimentation  in  the  mains 
the  Department  can  not  resent  protests  of  consumers  at  turbid  water 
when  the  accumulated  solids  are  intermittently  flushed  out  at  taps. 
INCRUSTATION  IN  DISTRIBUTION  SYSTEM. 

Because  ours  is  a  softened  water  there  is  always  a  certain 
variable  amount  of  calcium  carbonate  present  in  the  finished  product. 
The  softening  process  is  completed  slowly  at  summer  temperatures,  and 
in  winter  is  incomplete  even  when  the  water  passes  to  the  distribution 
system.  There  is  therefore  more  or  less  deposit  of  calcium  carbonate  in 
mains  and  service  pipes.  Even  with  high  bicarbonate  in  the  filling 
basin  the  water  leaving  the  sixth  basin  is  still  supersaturated  with  calcium 
carbonate. 

Connection  with  the  seven-foot  steel  flow  line  was  made  in  Janu- 
ary, 1908,  and  the  city  supply  drawn  through  it  for  74  days.  Examina- 
tion at  the  end  of  the  period  disclosed  a  deposit,  principally  of  calcium 
carbonate,  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  thick  when  moist,  which  shrank  to 
one-thirty-second  of  an  inch  in  drying.  The  water  passing  had  an 
average  total  alkalinity  of  59  parts  per  million,  of  which  25  were  due  to 
neutral  carbonates,  and  34  bicarbonates.  Temperatures  ranged  from 
32  to  47  degrees  Fahr. 

During  the  earlier  years  of  operation  there  were  notable  deposits  in 
meter  gears,  fish  traps  and  the  like.  Two  views  are  given  of  the  train 


•  i»t  Oetrtxr  Z6,  1905. 

Mk«r  It,  IWt. 
Sprint  *T«mi»  «nd  Vlttft. 


V.Ur  Mt  Mtttor  II,  1(09. 
S^OT.4  »i»M>ir  It,  1«0». 

•print  Irami*  Mrf  Yl«l«. 


from  a  meter  seat  at  Vista  and  Spring  Avenues,  October  26.  1905,  and 
removed  November  16,  1909.  It  is  apparent  that  the  heavy  incrustation 
had  interfered  with  the  meter's  operation  long  before  the  train  was  re- 
moved. The  instance — one  of  a  large  number  which  might  be  cited — is 
important  in  considering  the  installation  of  meters  in  a  large  way  in  lieu 
of  extending  or  enlarging  the  present  plant. 


56  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 

While  the  deposit  in  the  distribution  system  does  not  seem  to  be  in- 
creasing rapidly,  there  is  still  some  incrustation  in  progress,  due  to 
blending  of  unequally  softened  waters.  The  danger  of  this  trouble  can 
be  lessened  by  longer  storage,  which  will  equalize  the  quality  of  the 
water  before  passing  the  high  service  pumps;  or  by  so  regulating  the 
degree  of  softening  that  the  finished  water  shall  show  a  high  degree  of 
uniformity.  Lower,  regular  velocity  through  the  settling  basins  will 
allow  longer  time  for  softening  reactions.  Finally,  a  further  reduction 
of  this  trouble  would  be  effected  by  changing  the  order  of  chemical 
treatment,  adding  the  lime  first  and  agitating  the  treated  water  in  a 
mixing  chamber  before  the  charge  of  iron  sulphate  is  applied. 

STANDARDS  OP  PURITY. 

The  public  standard  of  water  purity  has  advanced  from  year  to 
year  since  the  clarification  system  has  been  in  operation.  Prior  to  1904, 
sedimented  water  containing  from  60  to  450  parts  per  million  of  sus- 
pended matter  was  accepted,  if  not  approved.  Compared  with  that 
standard  the  quality  of  water  furnished  in  1904-1905  was  excellent.  The 
next  year  showed  a  marked  improvement,  and  became  in  turn  the  stand- 
ard for  comparison  of  the  succeeding  year's  supply.  With  each  year 
the  quality  of  water  furnished  has  been  progressively  better  until 
1910-1911,  when  the  consumption  so  far  exceeded  the  plant's  capacity 
that  the  quality  of  water  was  inferior  to  that  of  the  preceding  year, 
though  far  better  than  any  water  furnished  prior  to  1907-1908. 

At  Moline,  111.,  color  reduction  to  20  is  considered  sufficient.  At 
Rock  Island,  in  June,  1911,  when  the  raw  water  had  a  turbidity  of  120 
and  a  color  of  120,  reduction  to  30  parts  of  color  of  the  platinum  scale 
was  unsatisfactory  when  suspended  matter  was  entirely  removed,  for  a 
color  of  less  than  10  parts  is  commonly  attained  there. 

At  Saint  Louis  so  long  as  Missouri  River  water  predominates,  the 
color  in  the  raw  water  does  not  exceed  30  parts.  This  can  be  readily 
reduced  to  12  or  less  by  the  present  method  of  treatment.  This  fixes 
a  standard  for  consumers,  who  are  not  inclined  to  entertain  any  argu- 
ment on  the  subject.  Although  our  coloring  matter  is  a  negligible  factor 
from  a  sanitary  view,  and  has  only  aesthetic  significance,  according  to 
consumers'  standards  a  wrater  of  more  than  20  parts  per  million  of  color 
is  not  acceptable;  its  occurrence  cannot  be  satisfactorily  explained;  its 
reduction  is  demanded.  It  is  not  possible  for  the  public  to  consider  the 
case  upon  a  percentage  basis.  We  can  reduce  a  color  of  100  parts  to 
about  45  to  50  parts  usually ;  further  than  this  it  is  impossible  to  go  with 
our  present  method  of  treatment.  Argument  is  useless  in  the  face  of 
the  fact  that  sometimes  the  color  is  only  4  parts,  and  again  it  is  40  or 
50.  We  must  sooner  or  later  ourselves  insist  upon  a  removal  to  the  ex- 
tent demanded  by  consumers. 

In  the  previous  discussion  of  color  reference  has  been  to  that  re- 
maining in  a  sample  after  filtering  off  the  suspended  matter.  The  pub- 
lic asks  that  a  water  be  "clear,"  implying  the  removal  of  suspended 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


solids  and  of  true  color.  The  intimate  association  of  the  two  character- 
istics in  the  "apparent  color"  has  more  than  passing  significance,  in 
view  of  the  action  of  dissolved  organic  coloring  matter  in  preventing  or 
retarding  to  a  large  extent  precipitation  of  iron  compounds,  and  the 
consequent  difficulty  in  removal  of  fine  suspended  matter  by  sedimenta- 
tion. 

OPERATING  COST  :     PRESENT  PLANT. 

The  average  charge  of  lime  and  of  iron  sulphate  used  for  the  past 
eight  years  is  tabulated  with  the  cost  of  chemical  treatment.  In  esti- 
mating the  cost  current  prices  have  been  used  in  order  that  the  values 
may  be  comparable  with  cost  data  and  estimates  given  later. 

Table  11— Chemical  Cost. 


Grains  P 

er  Gallon. 

Cost 

Per  Million  ( 

Sals. 

Lime. 

Iron 
Sulphate. 

Lime. 

Iron 
Sulphate. 

Total. 

1904-1905.  . 

6   02 

1   52 

$1   686 

*  1    14 

to    soe 

1905-1906  

6   28 

2   20 

1   759 

1   65 

3   409 

1906-1907  
1907-1908  

7.39 
6.02 

2.13 
2.55 

2.069 
1   686 

1.597 
1   912 

3.666 
3  598 

1908-1909  

5   58 

2   41 

1   563 

1    808 

3   371 

1909-1910  

5.70 

2   91 

1   596 

2   183 

3   779 

1910-1911  

5.77 

2.70 

1.616 

2   025 

3   641 

1911-1912  

5.19 

3.35 

1.453 

1.763 

3.216 

Average  

5   99 

2   47 

$1   679 

$1   760 

J3   413 

Chemical  treatment  and  its  cost  in  the  table  are  calculated  upon 
low  service  pumpage.  There  has  been  a  slight  increase  in  years  of  high 
stage  and  turbidity  because  of  the  correlated  decline  in  the  quantity  of 
magnesium  which  could  be  advantageously  precipitated,  and  the  necessity 
of  larger  charges  of  iron  sulphate  to  affect  rapid  coagulation  and  better 
clarification. 

SUGGESTED  CHANGES. 

Enlargement  of  the  plant's  capacity  to  meet  present  needs  is  im- 
perative. If  further  consumption  is  to  be  met  by  still  larger  develop- 
ment of  the  Chain  of  Rocks  plant,  the  new  intake  should  be  so  located 
that  only  Missouri  River  water  can  enter  it  when  Upper  Mississippi  is 
predominant. 

However,  the  location  approved  by  the  United  States  authorities, 
alluded  to  above,  lies  further  to  the  east  than  the  present  intake;  while 
it  will  relieve  the  water  shortage,  it  will  augment  troubles  incident  to 
treatment  of  colored  water,  and  has  an  important  bearing  upon  the 
choice  of  chemical  treatment  and  method  of  clarification  to  be  adopted  in 
the  present  situation.  Discussion  of  the  larger  question  of  the  establish- 
ment on  Missouri  River  of  a  plant  which  shall  furnish  the  major  part  of 
a  water  supply  when  consumption  shall  have  exceeded  the  limit  of  150 
million  gallons  per  day,  can  not  be  long  deferred.  So  far  as  investiga- 
tion of  the  question  has  gone,  the  indications  are  that  for  water  taken 
from  the  vicinity  of  St.  Charles,  the  cost  of  operation,  including  soften- 
ing and  filtration,  would  be  materially  lower  than  for  a  point  on  the 


58  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


Mississippi  River  where  the  supply  partakes  of  the  nature  of  the  com- 
bined waters  we  are  now  treating. 

From  the  standpoint  of  use  in  boilers  Upper  Mississippi  furnishes 
the  better  water,  because  of  its  lower  content  of  sulphates  and  the  cor- 
respondingly small  amount  of  hard  scale  which  would  be  formed.  But 
its  high  color  is  very  objectionable  for  domestic  use,  where  aesthetic 
considerations  are  to  be  regarded.  Any  project  to  depend  solely  upon 
Upper  Mississippi  River  for  our  supply,  as  was  proposed  some  years 
since,  involves  the  cost  of  constructing  an  aqueduct  to  some  point  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Missouri  River,  and  high  operating  cost  at  all  times. 

While  Missouri  River  with  its  higher  alkalies  and  sulphates  and  its 
high  turbidity  is  not  an  ideal  stream  from  which  to  derive  a  municipal 
supply,  it  presents  an  advantage  in  low  cost  of  treatment  with  partial 
softening  which  outweighs  the  consideration  of  lower  suspended  solids 
of  Upper  Mississippi.  That  the  major  portion  of  our  present  supply, 
drawn  indirectly  from  the  Missouri,  is  acceptable  to  the  public,  argues 
that  the  entire  supply  might  be  taken  from  that  river  without  serious 
detriment. 

In  any  event  it  will  be  necessary  to  develop  the  Chain  of  Rocks 
plant  to  a  capacity  of  150  million  gallons  that  an  adequate  supply  can 
be  furnished  while  the  new  plant  is  under  construction. 

The  abridged  form  of  treatment  adopted  prior  to  the  opening  of 
the  World's  Fair  has  beyond  question  served  a  very  useful  purpose. 
The  question  arises  whether  the  present  system  of  partial  softening, 
coagulation  and  sedimentation  shall  be  extended  by  adding  further 
sedimentation  basins  to  the  already  existing  plant,  or  supplemented 
by  a  filter  plant,  which  shall  afford  a  perfectly  clear  water  at  all 
times,  with  constant  bacterial  removals,  and  the  possibility  of  immediate 
control  of  operating  conditions.  In  view  of  the  cost  of  constructing 
Basins  7  and  8  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks,  and  the  cost  of  constructing  filters 
at  Cincinnati  and  New  Orleans,  it  seems  well  to  consider,  in  the  present 
emergency,  whether  enlarging  the  present  plant  to  meet  current  and 
future  demands  of  the  community  offers  any  great  saving  in  construction 
and  operating  cost  over  a  well  equipped  filter  plant. 

MIXING  CHAMBER. 

It  is  desirable  to  prolong  the  period  of  flow  through  the  basin  sys- 
tem to  insure  completion  of  softening  reactions  before  the  treated  water 
leaves  the  Chain  of  Rocks  plant.  At  present  some  of  the  water  passes 
to  the  drawing  conduit  in  six  hours.  Examples  have  been  cited  to 
illustrate  the  growth  of  deposits  in  the  drawing  conduit  and  even  in  the 
distribution  system.  A  period  of  24  hours  is  none  too  long  at  low  tem- 
peratures for  the  conversion  of  colloidal  calcium  carbonate  into  crys- 
talline form.  Precipitation  is  hastened  by  thorough  agitation.  To 
facilitate  this  it  is  proposed  to  construct  a  mixing  chamber  with  over 
and  under  baffles  between  the  delivery  well  and  the  gate  chamber  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  old  basins  (See  Diagram  5)  so  arranged  that 


TO  THE  JSOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  59 

with  pumping  at  the  maximum  rate  of  200  million  gallons  per  day  water 
which  has  received  its  charge  of  lime  will  be  subjected  to  one  hour's 
agitation  before  the  addition  of  coagulant  (iron  sulphate).  This  par- 
tially softened  water  will  then  be  ready  for  quick  precipitation  of  clayey 
matter  and  calcium  carbonate  in  the  settling  basins.  The  cost  of  con- 
structing the  mixing  chamber  will  be  about  $60,000. 

BASIN  ENLARGEMENT. 

It  has  been  shown  that  percentage  reduction  in  suspended  matter 
from  basin  to  basin  is  very  slight,  when  velocity  through  the  series  is 
high.  It  appears  that  in  their  present  manner  of  use  much  of  our 
reservoir  capacity  is  wasted  so  far  as  sedimentation  is  concerned.  Water 
courses  through  at  such  a  high  rate  that  the  finer  material  undergoes 
but  little  reduction.  A  lower  uniform  rate  of  flow  is  essential  to  removal 
of  finer  material.  The  rate  should  be  adjusted  on  the  basis  of  the  worst 
conditions,  which  persist  for  several  days.  In  July,  1911,  suspended 
matter  was  about  4500  parts  per  million  for  five  days.  The  approximate 
capacity  of  the  single  basin  at  such  a  time  is  about  27  million  gallons 
per  24  hours.  With  consumption  about  108  million  gallons  per  day,  we 
should  have  had  fourfold  capacity  in  our  filling  basins  for  this  period. 

For  a  consumption  of  150  million  gallons  six  basins  of  this  capacity 
would  be  required.  It  would  be  better  to  have  a  seventh  in  reserve 
or  in  service,  that  the  department  might  meet  the  extreme  consumption 
of  summer  without  sacrificing  the  quality  of  its  effluent.  With  seven 
filling  basins  about  180  millions  per  day  could  be  clarified  for  a  week 
of  the  most  turbid  water  we  have  experienced  in  the  past  six  years. 

Using  the  six  masonry  basins  and  No.  9  as  filling  basins,  offers  a 
distinct  advantage.  The  rate  of  flow  through  basins  would  be  lowered, 
and  the  time  of  sedimentation  very  much  increased.  This  would  increase 
the  effectiveness  of  clarification.  Additional  basins  would,  of  course, 
be  necessary  for  the  slight  percentage  reduction  of  residual  sediment 
which  can  be  accomplished  by  sedimentation.  The  cost  of  restoring  di- 
vision walls  between  the  old  masonry  basins  would  be  more  than  balanced 
by  reduction  in  cost  of  treatment.  It  is  essential  that  the  lower  velocity 
be  maintained  throughout  the  entire  system.  Sludge  would  be  only 
temporarily  removed,  and  the  disturbing  factors  which  now  influence 
bacterial  removals  and  clarification  would  still  be  operative  over  the 
entire  acreage  of  the  system. 

The  effluents  from  all  seven  filling  basins  would  be  collected  by  a 
conduit  and  passed  into  Basin  7.  The  old  masonry  drawing  conduit 
between  Basin  8  and  the  old  masonry  basins  is  connected  with  each  of 
the  old  basins  by  two  gates,  some  of  which  are  defective  in  setting,  so 
that  mud  finds  ingress  into  the  drawing  conduit.  It  is  unfit  for  further 
use  unless  this  condition  is  corrected;  it  is,  however,  too  small  to  carry 
150  to  200  million  gallons  per  day,  save  under  a  considerable  head,  which 
is  impracticable.  A  new  one  at  a  higher  level  would  be  necessary. 
From  Basin  7  the  partially  clarified  water  would  pass  through  a  second 


60  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


new  conduit  to  the  receiving  chamber  of  a  series  of  six  new  basins,  used 
in  parallel,  built  south  of  the  present  basins.  Each  of  the  new  basins 
should  be  constructed  with  a  stilling  wall  to  distribute  flow  with  a  greater 
degree  of  uniformity,  and  should  discharge  into  a  chamber  at  its  west 
end  connecting  with  the  11-foot  masonry  conduit  and  the  7-foot  steel 
flow  line. 

The  old  drawing  conduit  between  basins,  after  renovation  of  con- 
necting gates,  and  the  7-foot  steel  line  from  Basin  7  to  the  conduit  cham- 
ber, would  be  left  as  at  present,  to  allow  the  contents  of  this  basin  to 
flow  direct  to  the  high  service  stations  when  cleaning  of  the  new  receiving 
chamber  should  be  necessary.  Each  one  of  the  proposed  new  basins 
would  be  provided  with  filling  gates  and  sewer  connections  to  allow 
them  to  be  cut  out  of  service  and  cleaned. 

The  cost  of  this  construction  including  restoration  of  division  walls 
between  Basins  1-6,  and  construction  of  the  mixing  chamber,  would  be 
not  less  than  $1,500,000. 

Enlargement  of  basin  capacity  to  accomplish  removal  of  color  such 
as  occurred  in  1911,  is  impracticable,  since  color  removal  by  exposure  to 
air  and  sunlight  involves  months  of  storage.  Recurrence  of  this  trouble 
is  always  possible,  and  its  duration  entirely  dependent  upon  meteoro- 
logical conditions.  In  such  case  alum  must  be  used;  precipitation  with 
this  coagulant  should  be  followed  by  filtration. 

NECESSITY  OP  FILTRATION. 

It  is  apparent  that  the  addition  of  a  filter  plant  to  the  coagulating 
basins  is  essential,  if  the  residual  sediment  is  to  be  finally  removed,  and 
color  reduced  to  an  acceptable  amount.  Operations  under  prevailing 
conditions  in  a  plant  of  this  size  and  character  do  not  admit  of  the  close 
control  possible  in  a  filter  plant  where  the  units  (filters)  are  small,  sub- 
ject to  immediate  supervision  and  washing,  and  their  output  regulated 
by  rate  controllers.  In  the  present  Chain  of  Rocks  plant  there  are  six 
sedimentation  basins  of  30  million  gallons  each,  one  basin  of  40  and  two 
of  20  million  gallons  each  now  used  in  series.  It  is  manifestly  impossible 
to  interrupt  the  flow  of  water  through  any  one  basin  at  will,  should  the 
water  contained  in  it  prove  unfit  for  use.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  wholly 
eliminate  the  previously  accumulated  sludge  in  filling  and  sedimentation 
basins.  With  seven  filling  basins  and  six  additional  new  sedimentation 
basins  as  proposed  above,  there  would  be  effected  only  a  percentage  re- 
duction of  suspended  matter,  with  no  assurance  of  a  clear  effluent.  Ir- 
regularities incident  to  a  plant  of  this  character,  where  pumping  and 
drawing  and,  consequently,  the  period  of  sedimentation  are  subject  to 
wide  variations  directly  affecting  the  finished  water;  where  at  times 
the  volume  of  water  treated  taxes  the  maximum  sedimentation  capacity 
of  the  plant,  can  be  avoided  only  by  filtration. 

PROPOSED  FILTER  PLANT. 

It  is  suggested  that  a  filter  plant  be  built  in  the  west  end  of  Basin 
7,  comprising  40  filters  of  a  rated  capacity  of  4  million  gallons  each  per 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.     61 

day.  As  outlined  in  the  previous  suggestion  for  the  extension  of  the 
present  plant,  a  mixing  chamber  would  be  constructed  between  the  de- 
livery well  and  the  gate  chamber;  the  division  walls  of  the  masonry 
basins  would  be  restored.  The  wall  between  Basins  8  and  9  would 
be  built  up  to  the  elevation  of  the  coping.  A  new  conduit  would  con- 
duct the  sedimented  water  from  Basins  1  to  6  and  from  Basin  9  to  the 
northwest  corner  of  Basin  7.  It  would  there  pass  through  a  coagulating 
chamber  (A  in  Diagram  4),  where  the  secondary  charge  of  coagulant 
would  be  added,  and  thence  to  the  coagulating  basins  (7  and  8),  which 
are  provided  with  stilling  walls.  From  Basin  7  it  passes  after  sedi- 
mentation to  a  collecting  channel  along  the  east  side  of  the  filter  plant 
to  the  influent  pipe  at  three  points:  at  the  north,  south,  and  middle  of 
the  filter  house.  From  Basin  8  the  applied  water  would  pass  by  a  wide 
flume  over  the  coagulating  chamber  to  the  same  collecting  channel,  and 
reach  the  same  system  of  influent  pipes  in  the  central  pipe  gallery,  by 
which  it  would  be  distributed  to  the  40  filter  units,  each  52  by  33.8  feet 
area.  The  effluent  from  the  filters  would  pass  through  the  west  wall 
of  Basin  7  to  the  old  drawing  conduit,  at  the  northwest  corner,  midway 
of  the  west  side,  and  through  the  present  7-foot  connection  to  the  draw- 
ing conduit.  Wash  water  from  the  filters  would  be  conducted  to  the 
sewers  leading  from  Basins  5  and  6  to  the  river. 

The  filters  would  be  of  the  usual  mechanical  or  rapid  filter  type, 
with  provision  for  washing  by  reversing  flow  through  them  at  a  fairly 
rapid  rate.  No  air  would  be  used  in  washing.  All  valves  for  regula- 
tion of  filter  operation  would  be  electrically  operated.  A  stand  pipe 
would  furnish  water  under  sufficient  head  for  washing  filters. 

COST  OP  CONSTRUCTION  :     FILTER  PLANT. 

The  cost  of  reconstruction  in  the  present  plant,  with  the  addition 
of  the  mixing  chamber  and  the  installation  of  the  proposed  filter  plant, 
is  estimated  as  follows: 

Mixing  Chamber  $      60,000.00 

Restoration  of  division  walls  between  basins 

New  Conduit  with  connections  to  basins 

New  walls  in  Basin  7— North  and  south  wall 

East  and  west  division  and  stilling  wall 

Stilling  wall  in  Basin  8 

Filter  house  and  niters  complete 

11,250,000.00 

The  above  estimate  includes  sheet  piling  for  new  division  walls  in 
Basins  7  and  8. 

In  view  of  the  abundance  of  quicksand  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks,  under- 
lying all  basins  now  in  use,  all  baffles  in  old  basins  should  be  of  simple, 
light  construction,  such  as  was  suggested  by  Mr.  Hazen  in  his  report 
of  1902. 

CLEAR  WELL. 

There  is  no  possibility  of  introducing  into  the  system  a  clear  water 
reservoir  at  the  Chain  of  Rocks,  without  an  additional  pumping,  for  all 


62 


REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


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TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  63 

head  is  needed  in  the  conduits  if  they  are  to  carry  150  million 
gallons  per  day.  A  clear  well  at  Baden  can  probably  be  constructed  to 
better  advantage  than  at  any  other  point  along  the  conduit,  and  should 
be  a  covered  reservoir. 

OPERATION  OP  PROPOSED  PLANT. 

It  is  expedient  that  partial  softening  be  continued.  The  raw  water, 
having  received  a  charge  of  lime  sufficient  for  the  desired  degree  of 
softening,  will  undergo  at  least  an  hour  of  agitation  in  the  mixing  cham- 
ber, and  pass  with  a  portion  of  the  charge  of  coagulant  to  so  many  of 
the  filling  basins  as  it  is  necessary  to  use.  In  this  way  the  natural  sedi- 
mentation will  be  assisted  by  the  coagulant  added,  and  the  effluent  from 
sedimentation  basins,  even  in  times  of  extreme  turbidity,  can  be  reduced 
to  about  50  parts  per  million.  The  velocity  through  the  seven  basins 
used  in  parallel  will  be  but  one-sixth  of  the  present  rate  of  flow,  and  will 
be  ample  to  reduce  suspended  matter  to  such  a  degree  that  secondary 
treatment  with  coagulant  before  it  enters  the  coagulant  basins  (7  and  8) 
will  render  it  fit  for  filtration  at  a  rapid  rate,  with  no  danger  of  incrust- 
ing  the  filter  sand. 

Provision  is  made  for  addition  of  calcium  hypochlorite  to  water  as 
at  enters  the  coagulating  chamber  and  just  before  the  applied  water 
enters  the  effluent  pipe  system. 

CHEMICAL  COST  :     FILTER  PLANT. 

Using  the  basins  in  parallel  instead  of  in  series  will  reduce  the  cost 
of  treatment.  Hitherto,  in  the  attempt  to  utilize  magnesium  compounds 
as  coagulants,  it  has  been  necessary  to  add  a  considerable  excess  of  lime 
over  that  required  for  the  amount  of  softening  accomplished.  The 
amount  of  lime  needed  to  replace  and  precipitate  magnesium  is  fre- 
quently double  that  effective  in  partial  softening.  The  necessity  under 
present  conditions  of  operation  of  completing  the  clarification  of  the 
entire  supply  in  a  single  basin  involves  a  waste  of  from  fifty  cents  to 
one  dollar  per  million  gallons  for  lime  thus  used  in  excess.  During 
most  of  the  year,  when  Missouri  River  water  predominates  at  our  intake, 
it  will  be  possible,  using  lime  and  iron  sulphate,  to  get  very  satisfactory 
results  at  an  expense  for  chemicals  of  approximately  $2.30  per  million. 
The  extent  to  which  we  may  expect  a  larger  outlay  on  account  of  high 
color  is  problematical,  and  will  vary  with  the  distribution  of  rainfall 
over  the  Upper  Mississippi  and  Missouri  River  drainage  areas.  Some 
suggestion  as  to  the  cost  of  treatment  may  be  derived  from  cost  data  at 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  and  at  Rock  Island,  111. 

At  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  a  small  charge  of  lime  is  ordinarly  used  in 
conjunction  with  alum.  The  data  presented  covers  a  little  more  than 
six  years,  including  periods  of  flood  stage  and  high  turbidity  as  well 
as  reverse  conditions  when  low  stage  brought  clear  water,  which  re- 
quired little  treatment  with  chemicals.  Costs  range  from  31  cents  to 
$2.86  per  million  gallons.  The  average  charge  for  the  entire  period 


64  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


was  .86  grains  of  alum  and  .62  grains  of  lime  per  gallon,  representing 
a  cost  per  million  gallons  of  $1.0756  for  alum;  $0.1736  for  lime;  making 
a  total  chemical  cost  of  treatment  of  $1.249  per  million  gallons.  These 
costs  are  calculated  on  current  prices  for  these  materials  f.  o.  b.  our  track 
at  Hissell's  Point,  as  are  those  later  given  for  Rock  Island. 

Kansas  City  is  doing  practically  no  softening.  Using  about  two 
grains  of  lime  additional  at  an  added  cost  of  56  cents  per  million  gallons 
would,  accomplish  the  desired  degree  of  softening,  and  make  the  average 
cost  per  million  gallons  about  $1.81. 

At  Rock  Island  from  June,  1911,  to  May,  1912,  with  a  filter  plant  in 
treatment  of  water  at  higher  color  than  will  probably  occur  at  either  of 
our  intakes,  the  average  charge  of  alum  used  was  2.17  grains  per  gallon, 
at  an  average  cost  of  $2.726  per  million  gallons. 

Our  average  cost  for  eight  years  past  is  $3.41.  There  is  reason  to 
believe  the  cost  of  chemical  treatment  with  a  filter  plant  and  the  re- 
arrangement of  basins  suggested  will  not  be  increased,  but  rather  di- 
minished. 

SUMMARY. 

Water  derived  from  our  dual  source  of  supply  presents  two  distinct 
problems :  high  turbidity  and  high  color,  according  to  the  predominance 
of  Missouri  or  Upper  Mississippi  River  water  at  our  intake. 

The  new  intake  will  increase  the  proportion  of  colored  water  in  our 
supply,  and  the  difficulty  and  cost  of  successful  clarification. 

The  method  of  treatment  now  in  use  does  not  provide  for  adequate 
color  reduction,  and  is  ineffective  in  removing  turbidity  when  color  is 
high. 

The  capacity  of  the  present  plant  as  now  operated  does  not  exceed 
80  million  gallons  in  24  hours  when  the  river  water  contains  1500  parts 
of  suspended  solids  per  million,  and  30  million  gallons  per  day  when 
the  river  carries  4000  parts  of  solids  per  million. 

Consumption  in  the  summer  months  of  high  turbidity  has  been  fre- 
quently more  than  100  million  gallons  in  24  hours. 

The  Chain  of  Rocks  plant  is  now  inadequate  to  meet  consumption 
during  the  summer  months.  Its  capacity  should  be  increased  to  provide 
150  million  gallons  of  clear  water  per  day. 

The  cost  of  extending  the  present  system  of  coagulating  basins  to 
deliver  this  quantity  of  water  is  not  less  than  $1,500,000.  Such  ex- 
tension will  not  enable  us  to  effect  satisfactory  color  removal. 

A  filter  plant  of  the  same  capacity  can  be  added  to  the  present  basins 
for  $1.250.000.  Provision  is  made  for  color  removal. 

No  additional  enlargement  of  this  plant  should  be  considered  unless 
further  investigation  shall  have  proved  fallacious  the  apparent  ad- 
vantages of  a  plant  on  Missouri  River  above  St.  Charles  in  point  of  first 
cost,  operating  expense  and  quality  of  effluent  from  an  hygienic 
standpoint. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


65 


Table  12 — Data  platted  in  Diagram  4. 


Suspended  Solids 
Parts  Per  Million. 

Aver- 
age 
Daily 
Con- 
sump- 

Suspended  Solids 
Parts  Per  Million. 

Aver- 
age 
Daily 
Con- 
sump- 

River. 

Clear 
Well. 

River. 

Clear 
Well. 

Million 
Gals. 

Million 
Gals. 

1906. 
April  .... 
May  
June  
July  

1095 
691 
4317 
2182 
1164 
947 
691 
592 
264 

1110 
660 
1444 
1276 
1310 
3522 
3236 
1918 
624 
470 
420 
378 

241 
724 
693 
1013 
1053 
2600 
1983 
961 
768 
520 
1555 
795 

378 
1526 
1879 
1555 
1052 

2.9 
10.4 
3.6 
5.6 
4.1 
3.1 
3.1 
2.3 
2.1 

3.7 
2.0 
2.6 
2.3 
0.6 
2.4 
1.4 
1.3 
0.9 
0.7 
0.6 
0.2 

0.0 
0.5 
2.0 
2.0 
1.6 
2.3 
3.7 
2.6 
0.9 
0.4 
1.6 
0.9 

1.6 
0.3 
2.7 
1.4 
1.2 

67.0 
69.5 
78.4 
75.8 
77.9 
73.7 
68.7 
64.0 
63.0 

62.6 
65.2 
62.2 
64.7 
67.1 
72.4 
82.4 
79.6 
79.8 
71.8 
64.5 
61.4 

60.6 
61.8 
61.1 
62.3 
66.4 
73.1 
76.6 
81.1 
81.7 
74.1 
67.4 
65.1 

70.2 
65.8 
64.3 
67.4 
71.1 

1909 
Continued 
June  
July  
Aug  
Sept  

2750 
2613 
1414 
1367 
859 
1592 
958 

1002 
1014 
2345 
1692 
2419 
2434 
1802 
1344 
1348 
867 
605 
272 

282 
1212 
1282 
1603 
1289 
2037 
3315 
2166 
2489 
1348 
336 
471 

42 
433 
2365 
2549 
1686 
2587 
3470 
2193 

0.5 
5.0 
1.5 
1.1 
0.2 
0.6 
0.4 

0.0 
0.0 
1.3 
2.7 
1.4 
5.2 
5.4 
3.0 
2.5 
2.6 
3.3 
1.3 

0.9 
1.3 
2.3 
4.9 
4.7 
5.5 
13.2 
10.7 
8.1 
5.8 
2.5 
0.3 

2.9 
0.3 
1.0 
3.1 
5.4 
11.2 
8_1 
8.6 

78.0 
80.8 
89.1 
79.0 
73.0 
69.8 
76.0 

73.0 
73.6 
73.9 
72.1 
71.7 
79.8 
82.2 
84.0 
81.9 
78.5 
73.5 
73.0 

73.8 
70.8 
71.7 
71.7 
84.1 
94.1 
97.2 
89.9 
81.8 
81.8 
76.1 
72.4 

84.0 
84.7 
76.0 
74.9 
83.5 
85.5 
92.8 
92.0 

Sept  
Oct  
Nov  
Dec  

Oct  
Nov  
Dec  

1910. 

1907. 
Jan  

Feb   

March  .... 
April  
May  

Feb  

March  .... 
April  

July  

Aug  

July 

Sept  

Oct  

Sept 

Nov  

Oct 

Dec  

Nov  

1911. 
jan   

Dec  

1908. 
jan  

Feb   

March  .... 
April  
May  
June  
July  

Feb  

March  .... 
April  
May  

June  

Sept  

July  

Aug  

Sept  

Oct  

1912. 

Nov   

Dec  

1909. 
jan  

Feb  

March  .... 
April  
May  

Feb 

March  .... 
April  .... 
May  

July     .... 

Aug  

66 


REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


Table  13— Suspended  Solids.     Parts  per  Million. 


RIVER. 

C 

LEAR  WELL. 

Maximum 

!  .\\  im:inim 

A  veragre 

Maximum 

.Minimum 

Average 

1905. 
May  
June  

4031 
2969 

636 

822 

1962 
1809 

40 
6 

—  44 
10  6 

12.7 
2  7 

July  
AUK  

5693 
3798 

1466 
1127 

2845 
1950 

21.2 
34 

—26.0 
16 

7.4 
12 

Sept  

4474 

998 

2056 

26 

14 

10  9 

Get  
Nov  

2777 
952 

287 
342 

1015 
603 

18.8 
7  2 

—27 
40 

5.8 
5  2 

Dec  

856 

188 

386 

29  6 

1°  4 

9  0 

1906. 
Jan.  .  . 

1480 

139 

611 

15  2 

JO   \ 

q  2 

Feb  

2494 

163 

649 

13  6 

g 

7  1 

March  .... 
April  
May  
June  

2104 
1470 
1080 
5300 

152 
319 
122 

842 

641 
1100 
690 
3420 

11.6 
25 
27 

48 

—  8.8 
0 
3 
3 

7.7 
3 
10 
4 

July  
Aug  

4580 
1770 

1030 
690 

2180 
1160 

1* 
11 

2 

o 

6 

4 

Sept  

1630 

570 

950 

7 

Q 

3 

Oct.  . 

1180 

410 

690 

5 

o 

3 

Nov  

900 

400 

592 

5 

o 

2 

Dec  

500 

139 

264 

6 

o 

2 

1907 
Jan.  . 

2400 

146 

660 

g 

Q 

Feb  

2380 

733 

1440 

g 

Q 

March  .  . 
April  
May  
June  . 

1512 
2334 
6559 

934 

593 
945 

1276 
1310 
Q522 

7 
2 
5 

0 
0 

2.3 
.6 

July  . 

4596 

2105 

3236 

7 

Aug  

2384 

1482 

1918 

3  0 

0 

Sept  

1016 

742 

624 

2  0 

Oct  

885 

647 

470 

2 

0 

Nov  

534 

356 

420 

2 

0 

Dec  

885 

647 

378 

3 

1908. 
Jan  . 

534 

356 

241 

Feb  

2610 

42 

724 

March  .  . 
April  .  .  . 
May  .  .  . 
June  .  .  . 
July  .  .  . 
Aug  

1183 
1658 
1794 
3800 
3080 
1463 

456 
442 
556 
2031 
1180 
752 

693 
1013 
1053 
2600 
1983 
961 

7 
4 
6 
7 
12 

97 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

2.0 
2 
1.6 
2.3 
3.7 

Sept  

1383 

430 

768 

R 

Oct  

2152 

369 

520 

Nov  

2677 

800 

1555 

4 

Dec  

2096 

279 

795 

4 

1909. 
Jan.  . 

1919 

27 

378 

Feb 

2285 

767 

1526 

March  .... 
April  
May  

2736 
3123 
1776 

903 

787 
499 

1879 
1055 
1032 

6 
4 

0 
0 

0.3 
2.7 
1.4 

June  

5338 

1176 

2750 

July  

Aug.  .  . 

4081 
2713 

1300 
1033 

2613 
1414 

16 

0 

5 

Sept  

2252 

654 

1367 

1.6 

Oct.  . 

1229 

648 

859 

1  .1 

Nov  

4604 

604 

1592 

Dec  

2382 

33 

'158 

1910. 
Jan.  . 

1737 

1  4 

1  002 

0.  4 

Feb.  . 

1759 

423 

0 

March  .... 
April  
May  
June  .... 

6520 
2916 
7235 

8008 

690 
1210 
1117 
1346 

2343 
1692 
2419 

10 

11 

8 

0 

0 
0 

0 
1.3 
2.7 
1  .4 

July  

4146 

1069 

5.2 

Aug 

2464 

628 

5.4 

Sept  

2280 

499 

0 

3.0 

Oct  

1518 

579 

0 

2.5 

Nov.  .  . 

776 

474 

2.6 

Dec  

524 

130 

0 

3.3 

0 

1.3 

TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


67 


Table  13— Suspended  Solids— Continued. 


RIVER. 

C 

LEAR    WELL 

u 

Maximum 

Minimum 

Average 

Maximum 

Minimum 

Average 

1911 
Jan  
Peb  

715 
3144 

13 

275 

282 
1212 

5 
15 

0 
() 

0.9 
4.3 

March  .... 
April  
May  i 

2243 
4068 
3299 

755 
729 
661 

1282 
1603 
1289 

9 
9 
13 

0 
0 

o 

2.3 
4.9 
4.7 

June  

4302 

659 

2037 

16 

0 

5.5 

July  

4826 

2236 

3315 

25 

2 

13.2 

Aug  

3288 

1542 

2166 

23 

3 

10.7 

Sept  

3807 

1653 

2489 

22 

1 

8 

Oct  

2447 

279 

1348 

23 

0 

5.8 

Nov  

594 

154 

336 

10 

0 

2.5 

Dec  

955 

143 

471 

3 

0 

0.2 

1912.        | 
Jan  

162 

7 

36 

0 

2.9 

Peb  
March  .... 
April  
May  

2824 
4431 
4022 
2800 

1            3 
364 
1242 
1410 

433 
2365 
2549 
1686 

5 
5 
17 
38 

0 
0 
0 
0 

0.3 
1.0 
3.1 
5.4 

June  

4235 

1090 

2588 

24 

0 

11.2 

July  
Aug  

5097 
3170 

2220 
1535 

3470 
2187 

15 
13 

4 
5 

8.1 

7.2 

68 


REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


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TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  69 


APPENDIX  C. 

PREPARED  BY  EDWARD  E.  WALL, 
Water  Consumption,  Meters  and  Future  Supply. 

Of  the  30,000  million  gallons  of  water  pumped  into  the  mains  dur- 
ing the  year  ending  April  1,  1912,  over  9,000  million  gallons  passed 
through  meters,  and  was  mostly  used  for  business  purposes.  This  ap- 
proximates 40  gallons  per  capita  per  day,  and  is  about  what  would  be 
expected  for  the  business  consumption  of  a  city  such  as  Saint  Louis. 

For  example:  Milwaukee  is  reported  at  44  gallons;  Cincinnati, 
32  gallons;  Detroit,  50  gallons;  Toledo,  30  gallons;  Harrisburg,  73  gal- 
lons; Washington,  30  gallons;  and  Cleveland,  56  gallons. 

To  make  the  comparison  clearer,  the  total  consumption  of  water 
must  be  considered,  thus : 

Pet.  of  Taps 

Business  Use.  Total  Use.  Metered. 

Milwaukee  44  Gals.  109  Gals.  98 

Cincinnati    32  Gals.  128  Gals.  33 

Detroit    50  Gals.  158  Gals.  9 

Toledo  30  Gals.  93  Gals.  78 

Harrisburg,  Pa 73  Gals.  130  Gals.  83 

Washington  30  Gals.  177  Gals.  25 

Cleveland    56  Gals.  101  Gals.  98 

Saint  Louis  39  Gals.  118  Gals.  7 

The  percentage  of  taps  metered  will  affect  the  ratio  of  the  business 
consumption  to  the  total,  for  the  obvious  reason  that  with  a  large  per- 
centage of  connections  metered,  the  quantity  of  water  used  for  other  than 
business  purposes  will  be  less  than  if  the  same  services  were  on  a  flat 
rate. 

Various  investigators  have  collected  data  in  regard  to  the  daily  con- 
sumption per  capita  for  other  than  business  use,  under  the  heads  of 
domestic  use,  free  and  public  use,  and  water  unaccounted  for.  Under 
the  head  of  domestic  use  comes  all  the  water  used  through  connections 
made  for  residences,  flats,  apartments  and  tenements.  Free  and  public 
use  includes  all  the  water  used  for  extinguishing  fires,  washing  and 
sprinkling  streets,  public  fountains,  parks,  sewer  flushing  and  public 
buildings.  Water  unaccounted  for  means  the  undiscoverable  under- 
ground leaks  from  basins,  conduits,  mains  and  services,  the  losses  from 
evaporation,  from  emptying  mains  for  shut-offs,  from  leaks  and  breaks 
before  they  can  be  repaired,  from  the  slip  of  meters,  and  the  water  which 
is  stolen  through  unrecorded  connections,  deliberate  misrepresentations, 
and  from  private  fire  services. 

The  following  figures  are  given  for  these  three  uses  after  an  ex- 
haustive analysis  of  data  from  many  cities : 

Per  Capita  Per  Day  in  Gallons. 
Minimum.        Maximum. 

Domestic  use  17 

Free  and  Public  use 

Unaccounted  for  ...  8  18 


70 


REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


In  order  to  got  some  accurate  information  in  regard  to  the  domestic 
consumption  of  water,  there  were  selected,  each  as  representative  of  its 
class,  the  following  list  of  residences  of  various  sizes,  located  in  different 
parts  of  the  City  of  Saint  Louis,  upon  whose  services  meters  were  placed, 
the  number  of  rooms,  occupants,  faucets,  baths,  toilets,  etc.,  being  care- 
fully noted  : 

8  Residences 12  to  30  rooms 

8  Residences 8  to  12  rooms 

11  Residences 6  to     8  rooms 

9  Residences 6  to  12  rooms 

Boarding    and    rooming 

houses     and      residences 

without  toilets   or  baths. 
2  Residences 4  to     5  rooms 

One     story,     with     toilet 

and  bath. 
2  Residences 4  to     5  rooms 

One  story,  without  toilet 

and  bath. 

1  Apartment  House 18  apartments 

1  Tenement  House....  105  rooms 


(a) 
(b) 
(c) 
(d) 


(e) 


(f) 


(g) 
(h) 


To  this  list  others  have  been  added  and  monthly  readings  of  the 
meters  made,  and  the  per  capita  consumption  calculated.  The  residents 
were  not  informed  as  to  the  purpose  of  metering  their  connections,  the  ob- 
ject being  to  have  them  continue  in  their  ordinary  use  of  water. 

For  the  month  of  May,  1912,  the  average  daily  consumption  in  37 
residences  containing  242  occupants,  was  57  gallons  per  capita,  the  maxi- 
mum being  202  gallons  for  a  house  of  30  rooms  with  13  occupants,  and  the 
minimum  6.7  gallons  at  a  boarding  house  with  10  rooms,  15  occupants, 
and  without  toilets  or  baths.  Houses  without  toilets  or  baths  showed 
a  daily  per  capita  consumption  of  7  to  13  gallons,  while  the  other  resi- 
dences ran  from  75  to  190  gallons. 

The  same  37  houses  containing  236  occupants  during  the  month 
of  June,  1912,  showed  an  average  daily  consumption  of  54  gallons  per 
capita  with  a  maximum  of  212  and  a  minimum  of  5.6  gallons  on 
houses  taken  individually.  The  following  table  gives  the  average  daily 
per  capita  for  each  class  by  months : 


Class. 

Average 
No.  of 
Occupants. 

Average  Daily  Consumption   Per  Capita. 

May. 

June. 

July. 

August. 

Sept 

(a) 
(b) 
(c) 
(d) 
(e) 
(f) 
(g) 
(h) 

:i 
6 
6 
12 
6 
GV; 
20 
60 

143 
83 

28 
12 
14 
9 
145 
109 

142 
91 
23 
10 
17 
17 
180 
156 

180 
72 
21 
14 
19 
17 
133 
60 

147.8 
83.2 
28.4 
10.8 
20.0 
12.6 
119.0 
96.0 

147.7 
104.3 
29.6 
12.4 
22.7 
13.4 
98.5 
51.9 

It  is  evident  that  in  classes  (a),  (b),  (g)  and  (h)  there  is  an  ex- 
cessive use  of  water  which  can  only  be  due  to  carelessness  and  wasteful- 
ness. 

The  average  daily  pumping  for  the  month  of  May,  1912,  was  83y2 
million  gallons;  for  June,  84.6  millions;  for  July  91.2  millions;  for 
August,  92.4  millions ;  for  September.  95.8  millions. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


71 


Reduced  to  per  capita  on  the  assumption  that  Saint  Louis  has  a 
population  of  710,000,  we  have,  for  May,  daily  consumption  per  capita, 
117.6  gallons ; 

For  June,  daily  consumption  per  capita 119.2  gals 

For  July,   daily  consumption  per  capita 128.4  gals 

For  August,  daily  consumption  per  capita ....130.0  gals 

For  September,  daily  consumption  per  capita 135.0  gals 

In  estimating  the  domestic  use  of  water  from  the  data  given  above, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  apportion  the  total  number  of  residences  in  Saint 
Louis  among  the  several  classes,  and  apply  the  per  capita  figures  to  each 
class,  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  general  average.  There  are  106,968  serv- 
ice connections  to  the  mains  smaller  than  1  inch,  '4973  of  which  are 
metered.  Few  residences  are  metered,  and  many  stores  and  small  estab- 
lishments have  connections  smaller  than  1  inch  without  meters,  so  that 
for  all  practical  purposes  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  there  are  approximately 
100,000  residences  in  Saint  Louis  supplied  with  water  from  the  mains. 
These  may  be  arbitrarily  divided  among  the  classes  as  follows: 


(a) 10,000 

(b) 25,000 

(c) 40,000 


(d) 10,000 

(e) 10,000 

(f) 4,450 


(g). 
(h). 


300 
250 


This  division  of  residences  applied  to  the  per  capitas  for  May  gives 
a  general  average  of  52.2  gallons  per  capita;  applied  to  June,  figures 
53.6  gallons ;  for  July,  52.2  gallons ;  for  August,  53  gallons ;  for  Septem- 
ber, 57.2  gallons,  as  shown  in  the  following  table : 


Class. 

Total  No. 
Occupants. 

Total  Daily  Consumption  in  Million  Gallons. 

May. 

June. 

July. 

August. 

Sept. 

(a) 
(b) 
(c) 
(d) 
(e) 
(f) 
(g) 
(h) 

90,000 
150,000 
240,000 
120,000 
60,000 
29,000 
6,000 
15,000 

12.87 
12.45 
6.72 
1.44 
0.84 
0.261 
0.87 
1.635 

12.78 
13.65 
5.52 
1.20 
1.02 
0.493 
1.080 
2.340 

16.20 

10.80 
5.04 
1.68 
1.14 
0.493 
0.798 
0.900 

11.30 
12.48 
6.82 
1.30 
1.20 
0.36 
0.71 
1.44 

i  :'..!".. 
15.64 
7.10 
1.49 
1.36 
0.39 
0.59 
0.78 

Totals  .... 

710,000 

37.086 

38.083 

37.051 

37.61 

40.64 

Average  per  capita  

52.2 

53.6 

52.2 

53.0 

57.2 

June. 

July. 

August. 

Sept. 

53.6 

52.2 

53.0 

57.2 

12.0 

14.0 

14.0 

14.8 

40.0 

45.0 

45.0 

45.0 

13.6 

16.8 

18.0 

18.0 

The  actual  amount  of  water  pumped  may  then  be  divided  among  the 

four  classes  of  use  as  follows : 

May. 

Domestic  use  

Public  use  

Business  use 

Unaccounted  for  ... 

The  domestic  use  of  water  should  not  be  greater  than  40  gallons  per 
capita  per  day,  and  the  public  use  should  be  below  12,  without  in  any 
way  restricting  the  lavish  legitimate  use  of  water.  This  does  not  mean 
that  there  shall  not  be  used  on  any  premises  more  than  40  gallons  of 
water  per  day  for  each  occupant  on  any  day  of  the  year,  no  more  than 
the  above  statement  that  the  average  per  capita  on  37  houses  was  54 
gallons  during  the  month  of  June  means  than  no  more  than  54  gallons 


72 


REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


DAILY    PER  CAPITA  CONSUMPTION 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  73 


of  water  per  person  was  used  at  any  one  of  the  37  houses.  No  matter 
how  well  our  people  might  become  educated  in  the  economic  use  of 
water,  there  would  still  remain  a  wide  variation  between  the  maximum 
and  minimum  use.  Even  it'  our  average  per  capita  domestic  consump- 
tion was  brought  as  low  as  it  is  claimed  to  have  been  in  Cleveland, 
namely:  below  25  gallons,  there  would  be  many  residences  where  five 
or  six  times  this  amount  would  be  used.  An  allowance  of  40  gallons 
daily  per  capita  for  domestic  use,  for  710,000  people  will  furnish  an 
ample  supply  of  water  for  all  uses  in  our  homes,  and  it  should  be  entirely 
possible  to  bring  the  consumption  down  to  this  figure. 

Our  daily  average  consumption  should  be  reduced  to  100  gallons  per 
capita,  at  least,  which  is  slightly  lower  than  that  of  Cleveland  and  Mil- 
waukee, both  of  which  cities  are  practically  all  metered.  Cleveland  can 
account  for  96  per  cent  of  the  water  pumped,  while  Milwaukee  can  only 
account  for  77  per  cent.  In  the  last  eight  years  in  Milwaukee,  with  98 
per  cent  of  the  services  metered,  the  consumption  has  increased  more 
than  38  per  cent,  or  from  a  per  capita  of  80  gallons  to  111  gallons.  This 
increase  is  believed  to  be  due  to  the  large  underground  losses  from 
defective  pipes,  estimated  to  amount  to  over  20  per  cent  of  the  water 
pumped.  Pitometer  surveys  of  the  Saint  Louis  mains  indicate  that 
the  underground  losses  are  small,  probably  less  than  5  per  cent. 

The  experience  of  all  cities  has  been  that  the  only  permanent  way 
to  reduce  waste  and  leakage  is  by  the  installation  of  meters.  In  every 
instance,  without  exception,  placing  meters  on  a  large  percentage  of 
the  services  has  resulted  in  a  greatly  decreased  consumption,  and  after 
the  system  has  been  in  use  for  a  while,  and  the  meter  rates  properly 
adjusted,  the  people  are  fully  satisfied,  and  prefer  meters  to  the  old 
flat  rate  system. 

The  only  possible  way  to  establish  equitable  water  rates  is  to  sell 
the  water  by  measurement.  No  man  or  set  of  men  can  ever  devise  a 
schedule  of  water  rates  under  the  flat  rate  system,  which  will  be  just  to 
all  customers. 

Chart  No.  1  shows  population  curves  for  Saint  Louis  as  drawn 
by  different  engineers,  the  lowest  of  which  will  be  used  in  the  calculations 
of  this  report.  Chart  No.  2  shows  the  effect  that  the  installation  of 
meters  has  had  upon  14  cities  in  this  country,  and  also  a  probable  meter 
curve  for  Saint  Louis,  which  is  based  on  a  most  conservative  estimate  of 
the  reduction  in  per  capita  consumption  to  be  expected  from  a  large  use 
of  meters  here. 

Of  the  100,000  residences  in  Saint  Louis,  there  are  probably  15,000 
on  whose  services  it  would  not  be  economical  to  place  meters,  on  ac- 
count of  the  small  quantity  of  water  used.  Those  residences  would 
come  for  the  most  part  in  Classes  (d)  and  (f).  This  would  leave  85,000 
meters  to  be  installed,  of  which  78,000  would  be  V2"  and  %",  and  7,000 
would  be  94"  in  size. 

Following  is  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of  installing  and  maintaining 


74 


REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


these  meters,  including  interest,  depreciation,  reading  meters  and  cleri- 
cal work,  together  with  the  probable  effect  on  consumption  and  the 
resultant  saving  in  extensions  and  additions  to  the  plant. 

The  calculations  will  be  based  on  the  assumption  that  the  85,000 
meters  will  be  installed  at  the  rate  of  17,000  per  year,  taking  five  years 
to  complete  the  work.  Each  year's  installation  of  meters  should  reduce 
the  average  daily  per  capita  consumption  according  to  the  curve  shown 
on  Chart  No.  2 : 

COST  OF  METERS. 

78,000  %"  and  %"  Meters  @  $6.00 $468,000.00 

7,000   %"   Meters    @    $9.00 63,000.00 

*Setting  all  meters  @  $4.82  each  ...  -  409,700.00 

$940,700.00 
....$          11.07 


Average  cost  per  meter  

•NOTE. — The  great  majority  of  meters  would  be  placed  in  the  basements  of  houses, 
just  as  gas  meters  are,  where  the  cost  of  setting  would  be  small.  When  meters  would 
have  to  be  set  on  sidewalk  in  concrete  vault  or  box  the  cost  would  range  from  $8.00 
to  $20.00  per  meter.  Assume  that  65,000  meters  cost  $2.00  each  for  setting,  and  20,000 
meters  at  $14.00  each,  then  the  average  cost  will  be  $4.82  per  meter. 

ESTIMATED  COST  OF  MAINTENANCE,  ETC.,  PER  METER  PER  YEAR. 

Interest  on  cost,  3%  of  11.07  $0.332 

*Depreciation  (estimated  life  15  years) 0.416 

**Renewals,  testing  and  repairs  (4%) 0.443 

***Clerical  work,  reading  meters,  sending  out  bills,  etc.  (6%) 0.664 


$1.855 

•Depreciation   is  calculated  on  average  cost  of  meter  alone. 

**The  total  expenses  of  the  Meter  division  of  the  City  of  Milwaukee  for  last  year 
amounted  to  $0.334  per  meter,  with  53,051  meters  in  service.  At  Los  Angeles,  where 
they  have  over  40,000  meters,  six  men  take  care  of  the  entire  work  of  maintenance,  etc. 
•••Mr.  James  H.  Fuertes,  in  his  report  on  Water  Waste  in  New  York  City,  after 
minute  investigation  into  the  statistics  of  many  cities,  gives  $0.66  for  this  item.  One 
man  at  a  salary  of  $75.00  per  month  can  read  1500  meters,  make  out  and  deliver  the 
bills  quarterly. 

Assuming  that  17,000  meters  were  set  each  year  beginning  April  1, 
1913,  the  average  daily  total  per  capita  consumption  with  and  without 
meters,  and  the  estimated  population  are  given  in  the  following  table : 


Year 
Beginning 
April  1. 

Estimated 
Population. 

Per  Capita 
in   Gallons. 

Average   Daily 
Consumption  in 
Million  Gallons. 

With 
Meters. 

Without 
Meters. 

With 
Meters. 

Without 
Meters. 

1913  .  . 

718,000 
729,000 
740,000 
752,000 
765,000 
778,000 
791,000 
804,000 
817,000 
830,000 
843,000 
856,000 
869.000 
882,000 
895,000 
908,000 
921,000 
934,000 
947,000 
960,000 
973,000 
986,000 
1,000,000 

120.0 
114.3 
109.5 
106.0 
103.2 
101.6 
100.5 
100.0 
100.5 
101.5 
103.0 
104.5 
106.0 
107.3 
108.6 
109.8 
111.0 
112.1 
113.2 
114.3 
115.4 
116.5 
117.6 

120.0 
122.0 

m.2 

142.5 
125.8 
127.2 
128.6 
130.0 
131.4 
132.8 
134.2 
135.6 
137.0 
138.3 
139.6 
140.9 
142.2 
143.5 
144.8 
146.1 
147.4 
148.7 
150.0 

86.2 
83.3 

81  .0 
79.7 
78.9 
79.0 
79.5 
80.4 
82.1 
84.2 
86.8 
89.  4 
92.1 
94.6 
97.2 
99.7 
102.2 
104.7 
107.2 
109.7 
112.3 
114.9 
117.6 

86.2 
88.9 
91.2 
93.6 
96.2 
99.0 
101.7 
104.5 
107.4 
110.2 
113.1 
116.1 
119.0 
122.0 
124.9 
127.9 
131.0 
134.0 
137.1 
140.2 
143.4 
146.6 
150.0 

1914  . 

1915  . 

1916  

1917  

1918  

1919  

1920  

1921  

1922  

1923  

1924  . 

1925  . 

1926  

1927  

1928  

1929  

1930  

1931  

1932  .  . 

1933  

1934  

1935  

Chart  Xo.  8  shows  the  curves  for  the  above  estimate. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.     75 

The  cost  of  installing  17,000  meters  would  amount  to  $188,200.00 
per  year,  and  the  cost  of  maintenance  each  year  would  be  as  follows: 

MAINTENANCE  OF  METERS. 
For  year  ending- 


April 

1. 

1914 

(   17,000 

for 

i.. 

yr.)  

$      15,767.50 

April 

1, 

1915 

(   25,500 

for 

1 

yr.)  

47,302.50 

April 

1, 

1916 

(  42,500 

for 

1 

yr.)  

78,837.50 

April 

1, 

1917 

(   59,500 

for 

1 

yr.)  

110,253.50 

April 

1. 

1918 

(  76,500 

for 

1 

yr.)  

141,669.50 

April 

1, 

1919* 

(   93,750 

for 

1 

yr.).... 

173,906.25 

April 

1, 

1920 

(104,250 

for 

1 

yr.)  

193,383.75 

April 

1, 

1921 

(107,750 

for 

1 

yr.)  

199,876.25 

April 

1, 

1922 

(111,250 

for 

1 

yr.)  

206,368.75 

April 

1, 

1923 

(114,750 

for 

1 

yr.)  

212,860.25 

April 

1, 

1924 

(118,250 

for 

1 

yr.)  

219,352.75 

$1,599,578.50 

*NOTE. — The  number  of  new  connections  made  to  the  mains  in  Saint  Louis  each 
year  have  averaged  3,460  per  year  for  the  past  ten  years.  Some  connections  would 
not  be  metered,  and  allowing  for  a  normal  increase  in  the  number  of  connections  made 
each  year,  it  would  be  reasonable  to  assume  that  an  average  of  3,500  meters  would 
be  needed  each  year.  Hence  it  would  be  necessary  to  set  17,500  meters  in  1918  to  make 
up  the  eighty-five  per  cent  of  taps  metered,  and  to  set  3,500  new  meters  each  year 
thereafter. 

Cost  of  120,000  meters  in  place $1,328,400.00 

Cost  of  maintenance  to  April  1,  1924 1,599,578.50 


Total  cost  of  meters  and  maintenance  to  April  1,  1924 $2,927,978.50 

There  are  at  present  about  7500  meters  in  use  in  Saint  Louis.  As 
these  would  have  to  be  maintained  in  any  case  they  are  not  taken  in  to 
account  in  these  estimates.  Mention  is  made  of  them  only  to  call  at- 
tention to  the  fact  that  they  must  be  included  when  the  total  number  in 
service  is  considered. 

The  benefits  derived  from  the  installation  of  the  meter  system,  in 
addition  to  making  possible  the  establishment  of  an  equitable  schedule 
of  water  rates,  would  be  the  certainty  of  supplying  water  to  the  city 
with  the  present  works  until  1924,  or  longer,  since  the  above  figures 
on  the  reduction  in  consumption  are  very  conservative,  the  avoidance 
of  the  immediate  necessity  of  large  extensions  of  the  Water  Works,  and 
the  postponement  of  the  building  of  a  new  plant  for  ten  years  or  more. 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  necessary  extensions  and  the  esti- 
mated cost  thereof,  that  will  have  to  be  made  in  any  case  and  must  be 
started  at  once,  if  the  consumption  is  allowed  to  go  on  increasing  at  the 
present  rate: 

New  basins  for  increasing  purification  capacity,  or  filter  plant $1,250,000.00 

One  40-million  gallon  pump  at  Chain  of  Rocks  in  1922 

Six  300  h.  p.  Boilers  at  Chain  of  Rocks 

Two  Triple  Expansion  Pumps  at  Bissell's  Point  in  1921.... 

New  conduit  from  Baden  to  Bissell's  Point  in  1920.... 

Pump  main  from  Bissell's  Point  to  Magnolia  Avenue  in  192 

30-inch  distribution  main  on  Kingshighway  and  Aubert  Avenue  from 

Natural  Bridge  Road  to  Clayton  Avenue  in  1915.... 
30-inch  distribution  main  on  Manchester  and  Sublette  Avenues  to 

Arsenal  Street  in  1914  

20-inch  distribution  main  on  Fyler  Avenue  to  Maplewood  district 

in  1914 
Two  350  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Bissell's  Point  in  1921.... 

$2,663,000.00 


76  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


Three  propositions  present  themselves  for  consideration  as  follows: 

First — To  commence  the  installation  of  meters  at  once  and  proceed 
with  the  above  additions  and  extensions,  so  that  they  may  be  completed 
by  the  end  of  the  year  1923,  in  order  to  meet  the  increase  in  consump- 
tion after  that  date,  and  to  postpone  the  necessity  of  new  works  until 
1935. 

Second — To  commence  the  installation  of  meters  at  once,  and  at  the 
same  time  determine  upon  the  construction  of  new  works  to  be  started 
in  1915,  so  that  by  1923,  they  may  be  sufficiently  advanced  to  reinforce 
the  metered  supply  from  the  present  works  to  meet  the  consumption 
until  1935. 

Third — To  proceed  at  once  with  the  above  additions  and  extensions, 
which,  when  completed  by  the  end  of  the  year  1914,  with  the  exception 
of  distribution  mains  and  pump  and  boilers  at  Chain  of  Rocks,  will  at 
the  present  increasing  consumption  only  be  able  to  fully  supply  the  city 
until  1923,  before  which  date  not  less  than  $12,000,000.00  must  be  spent 
in  building  new  works,  beginning  in  1915,  and  sufficiently  advanced  in 
construction  by  1923,  to  furnish  an  additional  supply  of  100,000,000 
gallons  per  day,  which  in  addition  to  that  supplied  by  the  present  works, 
will  meet  the  consumption  until  1935. 

The  relative  costs  of  the  three  propositions  may  be  estimated  as  fol- 
lows : 

PROPOSITION  1. 

Cost  of  installing  and  maintaining  meters  until  end  of  year  1923....?  2,927,978.50 
Cost  of  extensions  to  be  completed  by  year  1923,  as  shown  on  pre- 
ceding page   2,663,000.00 

Eight  350  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Baden,   installed   in   1920,   with  coal 

bunkers,  conveyors,  etc 70,000.00 

Cost  of  maintaining  meters  up  to  April  1,  1936 3,138,660.00 

Cost  of  42,000  new  meters  set  between  1923  and  April  1,  1936 464,940.00 

Two  40  million  gallon  centrifugal  pumps  at  Chain  of  Rocks,  in- 
stalled in  1925 65,000.00 

Two  350  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Chain  of  Rocks,  installed  in  1927 15,000.00 

Four  triple  expansion  Pumps  at  Baden,  installed  in  1927-1930 440,000.00 

Four  350  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Bissell's  Point,  installed  in  1930 30,000.00 

Increase  in  cost  of  pumping,  1923-1935 1,208,498.00 

Cost  of  new  Works  begun   in   1927,   completed  by  April   1,   1936 

(8  years)  .'. 11,000,000.00 

Interest  on  $  2,663,000.00  from  1918  to  1935  @  3% 1,358,130.00 

Interest  on           70,000.00  from  1920  to  1935  @  3% 31,500.00 

Interest  on           65,000.00  from  1925  to  1935  @  3% 19,500.00 

Interest  on           15,000.00  from  1927  to  1935  @  3% 3,600.00 

Interest  on         440,000.00  from  1928  to  1935  @  3% 92,400.00 

Interest  on           30,000.00  from  1930  to  1935  @  3% 4,500.00 

Interest  on    11,000,000.00  from  1931  to  1935  @  3% 1,320,000.00 


Total  expenditures  up  to  April  1,  1936 $24,852,706.50 

NOTE. — Interest  on  cost  of  meters  has  been  included  in  maintenance. 

Proposition  1  should  be  charged  with  an  increase  in  cost  of  opera- 
tion, due  to  the  fact  that  all  the  water  pumped  until  1936  will  be  sup- 
plied by  the  present  works,  while  in  Propositions  2  and  3  a  portion  is 
supplied  by  the  new  works.  The  operation  of  the  present  works  necessi- 
tates pumping  the  water  twice,  whereas  the  newr  works  may  be  so  located 
as  to  avoid  the  second  pumping.  From  April  1,  1924,  to  April  1,  1936, 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  77 

under  Proposition  2,  only  one-third  of  the  supply  will  be  pumped  by 
the  present  works,  and  during  the  same  period  under  Proposition  3,  one- 
half  will  be  pumped  by  the  present  works. 

During  this  time  the  estimated  consumption  for  Propositions  1  and 
2  will  total  453,184  million  gallons,  and  for  Proposition  3  it  will  be 
581,518  million  gallons,  as  shown  by  the  table  on  Page  74. 

The  average  cost  of  pumping  per  million  gallons  last  year  when 
the  daily  average  was  83.6  million  gallons,  was  $11.24.  With  increased 
pumping  and  additional  and  newer  and  better  pumps,  as  proposed,  this 
figure  could  probably  be  reduced  to  $10.00  or  thereabouts.  Assuming 
that  the  new  works  would  be  so  located  as  to  pump  the  water  only  once, 
the  average  cost  of  pumping  then  should  not  exceed  $6.00  per  million. 
Hence  the  total  cost  for  pumping  for  Proposition  1  will  be  $4,531,840.00; 
for  Proposition  2  it  will  be  $3,323,342.00,  and  for  Proposition  3  it  will 
be  $4,652,144.00,  and  Propositions  1  and  3  should  be  charged  with 
$1,208,498.00,  and  $1,328,802.00,  respectively. 

PROPOSITION  2. 

Cost  of  Meters  and  Maintenance  up  to  April  1,  1936 $  6,531,578.50 

Eight  350  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Baden,  installed  in  1920 70,000.00 

Six  350  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Chain  of  Rocks,  installed  in  1920 45,000.00 

Four  350  H.  P.  Boilers  at  Bissell's  Point,  No.  2  House,  in  1930 30,000.00 

Cost  of  new  Works  started  in  1915,  and  partially  completed  in  1923 
to  a  daily  capacity  of  100  million  gallons,  so  as  to  reinforce  the 
supply  from  present  works  sufficiently  to  meet  the  consump- 
tion until  the  end  of  the  year  1935 12,000,000.00 

Int.  on  $        70,000  from  1920  to  1935  @  3% 31,500.00 

Int.  on           45,000  from  1920  to  1935  @  3% 20,250.00 

Int.  on           30,000  from  1930  to  1935  @  3% 4,500.00 

Int.  on      6,000,000  from  1919  to  1923  (a)  3% 720,000.00 

Int.  on     12,000,000  from  1923  to  1935  @  3% 4,320,000.00 


Total  expenditures  up  to  April  1,  1936 $23,772,828.50 

PROPOSITION  3. 

In  estimating  the  expenditures  for  Proposition  3,  account  must  be 
taken  of  the  increased  operating  expenses  due  to  the  greater  consumption, 
requiring  more  coal,  chemicals  and  other  supplies,  as  well  as  an  in- 
creased cost  of  operation  and  maintenance  throughout  the  whole  water 
works.  The  increased  quantity  of  water  pumped  in  1913  to  1923  over 
that  necessary  for  Propositions  1  and  2  will  be  36,828.5  million  gallons, 
and  from  1923  to  1935,  it  will  be  128,334  million  gallons. 

The  operating  cost  alone  would  therefore  be  increased  $368,285.00 
from  1913  to  1923.  For  the  later  period,  1923  to  1935,  only  one-half  of 
the  water  supplied  will  be  pumped  by  the  present  works  at  a  pumping 
cost  of  $10.00  per  million,  while  the  remaining  one-half  will  be  pumped 
at  a  cost  of  $6.00  per  million  by  the  new  works.  This  will  increase  the 
operating  cost  $1,026,672.00,  making  a  total  increase  of  $1,394,957.00 
in  the  cost  of  pumping  due  to  the  larger  quantity  of  water  consumed. 
The  purification  of  this  increased  quantity  of  165,162.5  million  gallons 
must  be  charged  to  Proposition  3.  The  cost  of  purification  last  year 


78 


was   $4.76   per   million   gallons,   which   may   or   may   not  be   reduced 

in  future,  so  that  it  is  not  safe  to  estimate  it  below  .$4.50.  This  item 

amounts  to  $743,231.25.     The  expenditures  for  Proposition  3  will  then 
be  as  follows: 

PROPOSITION  3. 

Cost  of  extensions,  etc.,  as  shown  on  page  75 $  2,663,000.00 

Cost  of  eight  350  h.  p.  Boilers  at  Baden,  in  1920 70,000.00 

Cost  of  new  Works  12,000,000.00 

Increase  in  cost  of  pumping,  1923-1935 1,328,802.00 

Increased  operating  cost,  due  to  consumption 1,394,957.00 

Increased  purification  expenses 743,231.25 

Two    40    million    gallon    Centrifugal    Pumps    at    Chain    of   Rocks 

in  1925  65,000.00 

Two  300  h.  p.  Boilers  at  Chain  of  Rocks,  in  1927 15,000.00 

Four  triple  expansion  Pumps  at  Baden,  1927-1930 440,000.00 

Four  350  h.  p.  Boilers  at  Bissell's  Point  No.  2  House,  in  1930 30,000.00 

Int.  on  $  2,663,000  from  1914  to  1935  @  3% 1,677,690.00 

Int.  on           70,000  from  1920  to  1935  @  3% 31,500.00 

Int.  on       6,000,000  from  1919  to  1923  @  3% 720,000.00 

Int.  on     12,000,000  from  1923  to  1935  @  3% 4,320,000.00 

Int.  on           65,000  from  1925  to  1935  @  3% 19,500.00 

Int.  on           15,000  from  1927  to  1935  @  3% 3,600.00 

Int.  on         440,000  from  1928  to  1935  @  3% 92,400.00 

Int.  on           30,000  from  1930  to  1935  @  3% 4,500.00 


Total  expenditures  to  April  1,  1936 $25,619,180.25 

Under  Proposition  3  by  1924,  the  average  daily  consumption  will 
have  reached  116  millions,  with  the  present  works  as  extended  taxed  to 
their  full  capacity,  and  the  new  works  ready  to  begin  operating  and 
supplying  100  million  gallons  daily.  The  present  works  would  have  to 
be  kept  up  to  a  working  capacity  of  at  least  100  million  gallons  per  day, 
assuming  that  the  new  works  would  be  eventually  enlarged  to  an  ultimate 
working  capacity  of  200  million  gallons  per  day.  In  order  to  keep 
the  present  works  up  to  the  working  capacity  of  100  million  gallons 
per  day,  or  better,  the  additional  pumps  and  boilers  have  been  included 
in  the  above  estimate. 

If  Proposition  1  is  adopted  and  followed,  the  condition  of  the  present 
works  in  1935  will  be  as  follows : 

At  Chain  of  Rocks — 

Two  30  million  gallon  pumps  40  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 
Six  350  h.  p.  boilers  15  yrs.  old  good  for  5  yrs.  service. 
Two  350  h.  p.  boilers  8  yrs.  old  good  for  12  yrs.  service. 
Two  40  million  gal.  centrifugal  pumps  good  for  7  yrs.  use. 
One  40  million  gal.  centrifugal  pump  good  for  17  yrs.  use. 
Two  40  million  gal.  centrifugal  pumps  good  for  20  yrs.  use. 

At  Baden — 

Two  triple  expansion  pumps  over  30  yrs.  old  practically  worn  out. 
Four  triple  expansion  pumps  5  yrs.  old  good  for  25  yrs.  service. 
Eight  350  h.  p.  boilers  15  yrs.  old  good  for  5  yrs.  use. 

At  Bissell's  Point.     No.  1  House — 

Four  400  h.  p.  boilers  22  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 

Three  20  million  gallon  pumps  over  30  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 

No.  2  House — 

Two  20  million  gallon  pumps  22  yrs.  old  good  for  8  yrs.  use. 
Two  20  million  gallon  pumps  12  yrs.  old  good  for  18  yrs.  use. 
Four  350  h.  p.  boilers  5  yrs.  old  good  for  15  yrs.  use. 
Two  350  h.  p.  boilers  22  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.     79 

If  Proposition  2  is  adopted  and  followed,  then  in  1935,  the  condition 
of  the  present  works  will  be  as  follows : 

At  Chain  of  Rocks — 

Two  350  h.  p.  boilers  28  yrs.  old  out  of  service. 
Four  30  million  gal.  pumps  40  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 
Six  350  h.  p.  boilers  15  yrs.  old  good  for  5  yrs.  service. 
Two  40  million  gal.  centrifugal  pumps  good  for  7  yrs.  use. 

At  Baden — 

Six  triple  expansion  pumps  over  30  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 
Eight  350  h.  p.  boilers  15  yrs.  old  good  for  5  yrs.  use. 

At  Bissell's  Point.     No.  1  House — 

Four  400  h.  p.  boilers  22  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 

Three  20  .million  gallon  pumps  over  30  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 

No.  2  House — 

Two  20  million  gallon  pumps  22  yrs.  old  good  for  8  yrs.  use. 
Four  350  h.  p.  boilers  5  yrs.  old  good  for  15  yrs.  use. 
Two  350  h.  p.  boilers  22  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 

If  Proposition  3  is  adopted  and  followed  the  condition  of  the  present 
works  in  1935  will  be  as  follows: 

At  Chain  of  Rocks — 

Two  30  million  gallon  pumps  40  yrs.  old  of  no  value. 

Two  40  million  gallon  centrifugal  pumps  23  yrs.  old  good  for  7  yrs.  use. 

One  40  million  gallon  centrifugal  pump  21  yrs.  old  good  for  9  yrs.  use. 

Two  40  million  gallon  centrifugal  pumps  10  yrs.  old  good  for  20  yrs.  use. 

Six  350  h.  p.  boilers  15  yrs.  old  good  for  5  yrs.  use. 

Two  350  h.  p.  boilers  8  yrs.  old  good  for  12  yrs.  use. 

At  Baden — 

Four  triple  expansion  pumps  6  yrs.  old  good  for  24  yrs.  use. 
Two  triple  expansion  pumps  over  30  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 
Eight  350  h.  p.  boilers  15  yrs.  old  good  for  5  yrs.  use. 

At  Bissell's  Point.     No.  1  House — 

Four  400  h.  p.  boilers  22  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 

Three  20  million  gallon  pumps  over  30  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 

No.  2  House — 

Two  20  million  gallon  pumps  22  yrs.  old  good  for  8  yrs.  use. 
Two  20  million  gallon  pumps  19  yrs.  old  good  for  11  yrs.  use. 
Two  350  h.  p.  boilers  22  yrs.  old  of  no  further  use. 
Four  350  h.  p.  boilers  5  yrs.  old  good  for  15  yrs.  use. 

The  capacity  of  the  present  works  in  the  condition  in  which  they  will 
be  in  1935,  as  previously  given,  will  be  as  follows: 

Under  Proposition  1 — 

At  Chain  of  Rocks  140  million  gallons  daily  working  capacity. 

At  Baden  55  million  gallons  daily  working  capacity. 

At  Bissell's  Point  60  million  gallons  daily  working  capacity. 

Under  Proposition  2 — 

At  Chain  of  Rocks  60  million  gallons  daily  working  capacity. 
At  Bissell's  Point  30  million  gallons  daily  working  capacity. 

Under  Proposition  3 — 

At  Chain  of  Rocks  140  million  gallons  daily  working  capacity. 

At  Baden  55  million  gallons  daily  working  capacity. 

At  Bissell's  Point  60  million  gallons  daily  working  capacity. 

The  capacities  just  given  are  somewhat  lower  than  the  quantities 
of  water  that  could  be  delivered  probably  for  several  years  longer,  since 
the  pumps  noted  as  of  no  further  use  in  1935  could  doubtless  continue  to 


80 


REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


be  operated,  although  somewhat  inefficient  and  expensive  of  maintenance 
and  repairs. 

It  will  be  safe  to  assume  in  the  case  of  Proposition  1  that  the  present 
plant  could  deliver  the  average  of  117.6  millions  daily  consumption  for 
1935.  But  previous  to  that  date  the  construction  of  new  works  would 
have  to  be  started  so  as  to  be  ready  to  supply  the  increasing  consumption 
after  1935. 

The  following  table  gives  the  estimated  population,  daily  per  capita, 
and  average  daily  consumption,  with  and  without  meters  for  each  year 

up  to  and  including  1960 : 

Average  Daily 

Per  Capita  in  Consumption  in 

Year                                                               Gallons.  Million  Gallons. 

Beginning                 Estimated  With            Without  With  Without 

April  1.                  Population.  Meters.            Meters.  Meters.  Meters. 

1936  1,014,000  118.5                 151.5  120.2  153.6 

1937 1,028,000  119,5                 152.7  122.8  156.9 

1938  1,041,000  120.5                 154.0  125.4  160.3 

1939  1,054,000  121.5                  155.2  128.1  163.6 

1940  1,067,000  122.5                 156.5  130.7  167.0 

1941  1,081,000  123.5                 157.7  133.5  170.4 

1942  1,094,000  124.5                  158.9  136.3  173.9 

1943  1,108,000  125.5                 160.1  139.0  177.4 

1944  1,121,000  126.5                  161.3  141.8  180.9 

1945  1,135,000  127.5                  162.5  144.7  184.4 

1946  1,149,000  128.4                  163.7  147.5  188.2 

1947  1,163,000  129.3                  164.9  153.4  191.9 

1948 1,177,000  130.2                 166.1  155.2  195.6 

1949  1,191,000  131.1  167.3  156.1  199.3 

1950  1,205,000  132.0  168.5  159.1  203.0 

1951 1,219,000  132.9  169.5  162.0  206.6 

1952  1,233,000  133.8  170.5  165.0  210.2 

1953  1,247,000  134.7  171.5  168.0  213.8 

1914  1,261,000  135.6  172.5  171.0  217.5 

1955  1,275,000  136.5  173.5  174.0  221.2 

1956  1,289,000  137.2  174.5  176.8  224.9 

1957  1,303,000  137.9  175.5  179.7  228.7 

1958  1,317,000  138.6  176.5  182.5  232.5 

1959  1,331,000  139.3  177.5  185.4  236.3 

1960  1,345,000  140.0  178.5  188.3  240.1 

It  will  be  well  at  this  point  to  call  attention  to  the  comparative 
merits  of  the  three  Propositions,  as  estimated,  to  the  end  of  the  fiscal 
year  1935. 

With  Proposition  1  the  present  works  can  be  made  to  supply  the 
city  for  the  next  23  years  or  longer.  At  the  estimated  expenditure  of 
$23,861,586.50,  the  Water  Works  would  have  a  total  working  capacity 
of  over  200  million  gallons  daily,  sufficient  to  meet  the  consumption  until 
1960  or  longer,  provided  the  necessary  renewals  and  repairs  were  made. 
A  bond  issue  for  new  works  would  not  be  needed  before  1927,  at  least 
12  years  later  than  in  the  case  of  either  of  the  other  Propositions. 

With  Proposition  2  in  1935,  the  total  working  capacity  of  the  entire 
works  would  be  130  million  gallons  daily,  with  the  certainty  that  a 
second  bond  issue  would  have  to  be  made  at  once  to  provide  funds  for 
increasing  the  capacity  of  the  new  works  eventually  to  a  working  capacity 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.     81 

of  200  million  gallons  per  day.  Along  about  1942  the  present  works 
would  be  abandoned,  and  the  property  could  be  sold  by  the  city  and  the 
proceeds  credited  to  Proposition  2. 

The  Hydraulic  Commission  appointed  in  1900  by  Mayor  Holla  Wells 
reported  this  property  at  a  valuation  of  $1,078,700.  Since  that  date  the 
Water  Works  has  acquired  other  land  along  the  river,  and  allowing  for 
this,  and  for  some  increase  in  land  values,  probably  $1,250,000  could 
be  realized  from  the  sale  of  the  present  works. 

With  Proposition  3,  in  1935,  the  total  working  capacity  of  the  Water 
Works  would  be  215  millions  daily,  which,  with  the  necessary  renewals 
and  repairs,  would  be  ample  to  meet  the  demands  until  about  1942, 
by  which  time  the  new  works  would  have  to  be  enlarged  to  a  daily 
working  capacity  of  200  millions. 

This  means  that  the  construction  would  have  to  be  commenced  about 
1937,  necessitating  a  bond  issue  of  $8,000,000  on  or  before  that  date. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  a  much  larger  quantity  of  water 
must  be  supplied  under  Proposition  3  than  under  the  others,  thus  greatly 
increasing  the  cost  of  operation  and  maintenance. 

After  1935  one-half  of  the  supply  would  be  furnished  by  the  new 
works  in  the  case  of  Proposition  1,  two-thirds  in  the  case  of  Proposition 
2  only  until  1942,  after  which  the  total  supply  would  come  from  the 
new  works,  and  in  the  case  of  Proposition  3,  one-half  from  the  new  works 
until  1949,  and  two-thirds  thereafter. 

The  total  quantity  of  water  pumped  after  1935,  under  Propositions 
1  and  2,  would  be  1,402,147  million  gallons,  and  1,787,843  millions  under 
Proposition  3. 

The  total  cost  of  pumping  for  Proposition  1  will  be  $11,217,168.00; 
for  Proposition  2,  $10,282,415.00;  for  Proposition  3,  $13,710,348.00. 
Therefore,  $934,753.00  should  be  added  to  the  expenditure  for  Proposi- 
tion 1,  and  $3,427,933.00  to  that  of  Proposition  3  for  the  increased 
pumping  expenses. 

Following  are  the  expenditures  necessary  in  each  case  to  supply 
water  to  the  city  from  1913  to  1960: 

PROPOSITION  1. 

Expenditures  from  1913  to  1935,  inclusive....  ....$24,852,706.50 

Maintenance,  etc.,  on  Meters  1935-1960 

Cost  of  84,000  Meters  installed  1935-1960.... 

At  Chain  of  Rocks- 
Six  300  h.  p.  boilers  installed  in  1940.... 
Two  350  h.  p.  boilers  installed  in  1947.... 
Two  40  million  gallon  centrifugal  Pumps,  1942.. 
One  40  million  gallon  centrifugal  Pump,  1952.. 
Two  40  million  gallon  centrifugal  Pumps,  1955.... 

At  Baden — 

Eight  350  h.  p.  boilers  installed  in  1940 


82  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 

At  Bissell's  Point — 

Two  20  million  gallon  Pumps  in  1943 220,000.00 

Two  20  million  gallon  Pumps  in  1953 220,000.00 

Four  350  h.  p.  Boilers  installed  in  1950 30,000.00 

Two  350  h.  p.  Boilers  installed  in  1935 15,000.00 

Increased  pumping  expense  1936-1960  over  Proposition  2 934,753.00 

Int.  on  $  45,000  from  1940-1960  @  3% 27,000.00 

Int.  on      15,000  from  1947-1960  @  3% 5,850.00 

Int.  on      65,000  from  1942-1960  @  3% 35,100.00 

Int.  on      30,000  from  1952-1960  @  3% 7,200.00 

Int.  on      65,000  from  1955-1960  @  3% 9,750.00 

Int.  on      60,000  from  1940-1960  @  3% 36,000.00 

Int.  on    220,000  from  1943-1960  @  3% 112,200.00 

Int.  on    220,000  from  1953-1960  @  3% 46,200.00 

Int.  on      30,000  from  1950-1960  @  3</r 9,000.00 

Int.  on      15,000  from  1935-1960  @  3% 11,250.00 

Int.  on  $14,283,000  invested  prior  to  April  1,  1936,  from  1936-1961 

@  3% 10,712,250.00 

Total   cost  of   Proposition   1 $48,035,766.75 

PROPOSITION  2. 

Expenditures  from  1913  to  1935,  inclusive $23,772,828.50 

Cost  of  completion  of  new  works  by  1942 8,000,000.00 

Cost  of  84,000  Meters  installed,  1935-1960 929,880.00 

Maintenance,  etc.,  on  Meters,  1935-1960 9,541,627.25 

Renewal  of  Boiler  Plant  in  1943  (8—400  h.  p.) 65,000.00 

Renewal  of  Pumping  Engine  in  1953  (7— 20-million  gallon) 700,000.00 

Int.  on  $4,000,000  from  1939-1942  @  3% 360,000.00 

Int.  on     8,000,000  from  1942-1960  @  3% 4,320,000.00 

Int.  on         65,000  from  1943-1960  @  3% 33,150.00 

Int.  on        700,000  from  1953-1960  @  3% 147,000.00 

Int.  on  12,135,000  invested  prior  to  April  1,  1936,  from  1936-1961 

@    3%    9,301,250.00 


Total  cost  of  Proposition  2 $57,170,735.75 

PROPOSITION  3. 

Expenditures  from  1913  to  1935,  inclusive $25,619,180.25 

Increased  pumping  expense  over  Proposition  2 3,427,933.00 

At  Chain  of  Rocks — 

Two  40  million  gallon  centrifugal  Pumps  in  1942 65,000.00 

One  40  million  gallon  centrifugal  Pump  in  1944 30,000.00 

Two  40  million  gallon  centrifugal  Pumps  in  1955 65,000.00 

Six  300  h.  p.  Boilers  in  1940 45,000.00 

Two  300  h.  p.  Boilers  in  1947 15,000.00 

At  Baden — 

Eight  350  h.  p.  Boilers  in  1940 60,000.00 

At  Bissell's  Point- 
Two  20  million  gallon  Pumps  in  1943 220,000.00 

Two  20  million  gallon  Pumps  in  1946 220,000.00 

Four  350  h.  -p.  Boilers  in  1950 30,000.00 

Two  350  h.  p.  Boilers  in  1935 15,000.00 

New  Works — 

Renewal  of  Boiler  Plant  in  1943 65,000.00 

Renewal  of  Pumps  in  1953 700,000.00 

Increasing  new  Works,  1937-1942 8,000,000.00 

Increase  in  cost  of  purification 1,735,632.00 

Increased  operating  expenses  due  to  larger  quantity  of  water 

pumped 2,958,304.00 


Amount  forward  $43,271,049.25 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 


83 


Amount  forward  

Int.  on  $  65,000  from  1942-1960 
Int.  on  30,000  from  1944-1960 
Int.  on  65,000  from  1955-1960 
Int.  on  45,000  from  1940-1960 
Int.  on  15,000  from  1947-1960 
Int.  on  60,000  from  1940-1960 
Int.  on  220,000  from  1943-1960 
Int.  on  220,000  from  1946-1960 
Int.  on  30,000  from  1950-1960 
Int.  on  15,000  from  1935-1960 
Int.  on  65,000  from  1943-1960 
Int.  on  700,000  from  1947-1960 
Int.  on  4,000,000  from  1947-1960 
Int.  on  8,000,000  from  1940-1960 
Int.  on  15,360,000  invested  prior 
@  3% 


@  3%. 
@  3%. 
@  3%. 
f,i  :','/; 
@  3%. 
@  3%. 
@  3%. 
@  3%. 
@  3%. 
@  3%. 
@  3%. 
@  3%. 
@  3%. 


.$43,271.049.25 

35,100.00 

14,400.00 

9,750.00 

27,000.00 

5,850.00 

36,000.00 

112,200.00 

92,400.00 

9,000.00 

11,250.00 

33,150.00 

147,000.00 

360,000.00 


@>  3%    4,800,000.00 

to  April  1,  1936,  from  1936-1961 
11,520,000.00 


Total  cost  of  Proposition  3 $60,484,149.25 

The  following  tabulation  shows  the  amounts  of  money  necessary 
each  year  to  carry  out  each  of  the  three  Propositions : 

Year.                                                Prop.  1.  Prop.  2.                       Prop.  3. 

1913  Meters  $      204,000  $      204,000                $ 

1913  Purification  Plant 1,250,000  235,500                    1,250,000 

1914  Meters  235,500  235,500 

1914  Distribution  Mains   173,000  173,000  173,000 

1915  Meters  267,000  267,000 

1915  Distribution  Mains  165,000  165,000                       165,000 

1915  Bond  Issue  for  new  Wks....  12,000,000  12,000,000 

1916  Meters  298,400  298,400 

1917  Meters  329,800  329,800 

1918  Meters  362,100  362,100 

1919  Meters  381,600  381,600 

1920  Meters  388,100  388,100 

1920  Conduit  300,000  300,000 

1920  Boilers  115,000  115,000  115,000 

1921  Meters  394,600  394,600 

1921  Pump  Main  455,000  455,000 

1921  Pumps   220,000  220,000 

1922  Meters  401,000  401,000 

1922  Pump  ..  40,000 

1923  Meters  407,500  407,500 

1924  Meters  ..               414,000  414,000 

1925  Meters  420,500  420,500 

1925  Pumps  65,000  65,000 

1926  Meters  427,000  427,000 

1927  Meters  433,500  433,500 

1927  Boilers  15,000 

1927  Pumps  440,000 

1927  Bond  Issue  for  new  Wks....  11,000,000 

1928  Meters  440,000 

1929  Meters  446,500  446,500 

1930  Meters  453,000  453,000 

1930  Boilers  I  30,000 

1931  Meters  459,500 

1932  Meters  466,000  466,000 

1933  Meters  472,500  472,500 

1934  Meters  I  479,000  479,000 

1935  Sers :::::::::::::: 435,500 

1935  Bond  Issue  for  new  Wks.... 
1937  Bond  Issue  for  new  Wks.... 

By  adopting  and  following  Proposition  1,  the  expenditures  can  be 
met  from  the  revenue  of  the  Water  Department  until  1927,  12  years  later 
than  a  bond  issue  would  be  required  under  either  of  the  other  Propo- 
sitions. 


84  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 

The  unappropriated  balance  in  Water  Works  revenue  fund  on  April 
1,  1912,  was  $1,248,570.42. 

The  operating  expenses  of  the  department,  including  the  office  of 
Assessor  and  Collector  of  Water  Rates,  amount  to  $1,250,000.00  in  round 
numbers. 

The  amount  set  aside  for  sinking  fund  annually  is  $300.000.00,  and 
the  interest  paid  on  bonds  is  $133,000.00,  bringing  the  total  expenditure 
to  $1,683,000.00.  The  collections  last  year  were  $2,178,000.00,  leaving 
a  surplus  of  almost  a  half  million  dollars.  Assuming  that  this  surplus 
of  $500,000.00  can  be  relied  upon  each  year  in  the  future,  we  can  start 
out  with  our  unexpended  balance  of  a  million  and  a  quarter  dollars,  from 
which  must  first  be  taken  the  cost  of  a  new  intake  tower  and  tunnel — 
$550,000.00 — work  on  which  will  be  started  this  year.  The  surplus  for 
this  year  will  restore  the  unexpended  balance  to  its  original  figure  next 
April.  From  1913  to  1927  $6,860,000.00  will  be  needed  for  Proposition 
1.  Starting  with  $1,250,000.00  and  adding  $500,000.00  per  year,  we  will 
have  $8,750,000.00  available  during  that  time.  In  1913  $1,454,000.00 
will  be  needed  for  meters  and  for  increasing  the  purification  capacity, 
while  our  available  balance  will  only  be  $1,250,000.00,  but  a  portion  of 
this  work  will  not  be  done  until  1914,  as  it  will  take  at  least  eighteen 
months  to  build  the  plant.  After  that  110  large  expenditure  will  be 
needed  until  1920  and  thereafter. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  Proposition  1  can  be  carried  out  for 
$9,000,000.00  less  than  Proposition  2,  and  over  $12,000,000.00  less  than 
Proposition  3,  there  should  be  no  question  as  to  its  adoption.  But,  should 
the  antipathy  of  the  people  of  Saint  Louis  to  the  installation  of  meters 
be  so  great  as  to  forbid  the  consideration  of  both  Propositions  1  and  2, 
then  Proposition  3  must  be  adopted. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  85 


APPENDIX  D. 

PREPARED  BY  EDWARD  E.  WALL. 
Water  Rates. 

The  establishment  of  equitable  water  rates  in  any  city  is  a  vex- 
atious and  difficult  problem,  the  solution  of  which  can  only  be  ap- 
proached after  a  thorough  study  of  local  conditions  peculiar  to  each 
city.  An  attempt  to  use  the  rates  in  vogue  in  other  places  as  a 
basis  for  charges  will  lead  to  erroneous  conclusions,  is  illogical  and 
unscientific. 

The  only  benefit  to  be  derived  from  a  study  of  rates  in  other 
cities  is  that  of  having  a  rough  check  on  our  own  rates,  more  in  the 
direction  of  their  consistency  than  of  the  charges  in  detail. 

The  establishment  of  a  new  schedule  of  water  rates  for  St.  Louis 
really  means  for  a  time  the  fixing  of  two  sets  of  rates — one  for  the 
water  sold  by  measurement,  and  another  for  that  sold  at  the  fixture 
or  flat  rate.  No  flat  rate  schedule  can  be  devised  which  will  do  even  ap- 
proximate justice  to  all,  for  the  reason  that  the  rate  which  averages 
right  for  a  large  number  of  families  will  be  a  rank  injustice  to  the  careful 
consumer,  and  equally  unjust  to  the  city  in  the  case  of  the  wasteful  con- 
sumer. No  gas  or  electric  company  would  attempt  to  give  flat  rates  to 
consumers,  except  at  exorbitant  charges,  yet  1,000  cubic  feet  of  gas  is 
worth  but  little  more  than  1,000  cubic  feet  of  water. 

In  St.  Louis  about  seven  per  cent  of  the  service  connections  are 
metered.  These  include  all  service  connections  larger  than  %  inch. 
Nearly  one-third  of  the  water  pumped  into  the  mains  is  measured  and 
paid  for  at  meter  rates.  Almost  two-fifths  of  the  entire  revenue  of 
the  Water  Department  comes  from  the  meter  rates.  At  first  sight 
this  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  meter  rates  are  too  high,  but  as 
will  be  shown  later,  this  inference  would  not  be  correct. 

Ninety-three  per  cent  of  the  services  provide  the  remainder  of 
the  revenue,  but  less  than  one-half  of  the  water  pumped  passes 
through  these  services. 

Fully  one-fourth  of  the  water  pumped  is  used  for  public  and  free 
service  and  unpreventable  losses. 

The  net  revenue  for  the  year  ending  April  1,  1912,  was 
$2,145,526.25.  The  total  expenditure  during  the  same  time  was 
$1,154,853.68,  not  including  $300,000.00  set  aside  for  the  Sinking  Fund 
and  $133,799  for  interest  on  bonds.  The  Charter  provides  that  the 
water  rates  for  St.  Louis  shall  be  so  fixed  as  to  provide,  at  least, 
sufficient  revenue  to  pay  the  cost  of  operation  and  maintenance,  and 
for  payment  of  interest  on  Water  Works  Bonds.  All  extensions  and 
improvements  have,  in  the  past,  been  paid  out  of  the  revenue.  In 
order  to  arrive  at  the  amount  of  revenue  required  it  will  first  be 


86  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 

necessary  to  estimate  as  nearly  as  possible  the  amount  of  money 
necessary  for  these  purposes  for  each  year  for  some  time  in  the 
future,  say  a  period  of  not  less  than  ten  years. 

In  order  to  do  this  intelligently,  a  review  of  the  total  expendi- 
tures for  the  past  thirty  years,  and  a  careful  analysis  of  these  figures 
should  lead  to  some  definite  conclusions,  both  as  to  the  present  and 
future  cost  of  delivering  water  to  the  consumer. 

Beginning  with  the  year  1883,  and  ending  with  1912,  the  total 
expenditures  of  the  Water  Department  were  as  follows: 

For  Water  Pipe  and  Laying  $  7,098,700.40 

For  Water  Works  Extension  and  Reconstruction 10,177,607.75 

For  Assessment  and  Collection  of  Water  Rates 1,753,121.11 

For  Operating  and  Maintaining  Works 14,998,770.42 

For  Interest  on  Bonds  and  Sinking  Fund 4,804,794.75 


Total  $38,832,994.43 

This  is  an  average  of  $1,296,769.84  per  year  for  thirty  years  with 
a  net  expenditure  of  $700,252.37  in  1883,  $1,540,327.46  in  1910-11,  and 
$1,588,652.68  in  1911-12.  During  the  thirty  years  there  was  pumped 
580,241  million  gallons  of  water  into  the  mains.  The  average  cost 
per  million  gallons  would,  therefore,  be  $67.05. 

The  revenues  collected  during  the  thirty  years  amount  to  a  net 
total  of  $41,686,783.21,  or  an  average  of  $1,389,559.44  per  year. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  of  the  total  amount  of 
$4,874,795.65  paid  for  interest  and  sinking  fund  $4,384,429.10  was 
paid  during  the  last  eight  years.  After  1886  and  until  1904  the  in- 
terest on  water  works  bonds  was  paid  out  of  municipal  revenue. 

So  that  the  expenditure  for  the  first  22  years  of  the  30  years 
taken  will  average  somewhat  lower  than  the  last  eight  years.  The 
average  cost  per  million  gallons  for  the  22  years  from  1883  to  1904 
inclusive  was  $61.77. 

Since  1904  the  additional  cost  of  purifying  the  water  has  been 
added,  so  that  the  figures  of  the  last  eight  years  should  be  a  better 
index  as  to  present  costs  than  the  longer  period.  The  expenditures 
for  this  period  have  been  as  follows: 

For  Water  Pipe  and  laying $  2,244,778.90 

For  Water  Works  extension  and  reconstruction 2,356,654.52 

For  Assessment  and  collection  of  Water  Rates 564,601.73 

For  operating  and  maintaining  Works 6,843,839.00 

For  Interest  on  Bonds  and  Sinking  Fund 4,384,429.10 


Total  ..  $16,394,303.25 

This  gives  an  average  of  $2,049,287.90  per  year  for  the  eight 
years  during  which  time  there  was  pumped  216,504  million  gallons 
of  water.  The  average  cost  per  million  for  this  period  would,  there- 
fore, be  $75.72. 

The  revenues  collected  during  the  eight  years  amount  to  a  total 
of  $15,371,684.70,  which  is  $1,022,618.25  less  than  the  amount  ex- 
pended. 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.     87 

It  is  probable  that  the  average  cost  for  the  immediate  future  will 
be  greater  than  that  of  the  last  eight  years  for  the  reason  that  the 
expenditures  for  the  new  intake,  and  for  increasing  the  capacities 
of  the  purification  plant,  of  the  pumping  stations  and  of  the  distribu- 
tion system,  all  of  which  must  be  done  during  the  next  few  years, 
will  be  much  greater  than  the  average  cost  of  extensions  during  the 
past  eight  years.  The  cost  of  extensions  for  the  eight  years  just 
past,  as  given  above,  has  been  $2,356,654.52.  The  cost  of  new  exten- 
sions which  must  be  completed  within  ten  years  if  meters  are  in- 
stalled, is  approximately  $6,000,000.00  itemized  as  follows: 

New  Settling  Basins  or  Filters $1,250,000.00 

Intake   Tower  and   Tunnel 550,000.00 

Revetment  of  two  miles  of  River  Bank 150,000.00 

One  40-million  gallon  pump  at  Chain  of  Rocks 40,000.00 

Six  Boilers  at  Chain  of  Rocks 45,000.00 

Two  Triple  Expansion  Pumps  at  Bissell's  Point 220,000.00 

New  Conduit  from  Baden  to  Bissell's  Point 300,000.00 

Pump  main  from  Bissell's  Point  to  Magnolia  Avenue 455,000.00 

Meters  $2,873,004.25 


$5,883,004.25 

Assuming  that  the  average  daily  pumping  for  the  period  of  ten 
years  would  be  81.5  million  gallons,  and  applying  this  to  the  increase  of 
$3,526,349.73  in  the  expenditures  for  extensions,  we  will  have  an  increase 
of  $11.85  per  million  gallons,  which,  added  to  the  former  figures  of  $75.72, 
gives  $87.57  as  the  probable  average  cost  per  million  gallons  of  water 
pumped  during  the  next  ten  years.  No  account  has  been  taken  of  in- 
terest on  the  money  invested  during  the  ten  years,  nor  on  the  capital 
invested  in  the  entire  plant.  No  depreciation,  except  on  meters,  has 
been  figured  in  the  expenditures. 

As  the  St.  Louis  Water  Works  is  a  municipal  plant  and  is  not 
operated  for  profit  and,  going  on  the  theory  that  the  people  prefer  to 
have  this  public  utility  operated  for  their  use,  comfort  and  convenience 
at  a  charge  to  them,  which  covers  only  the  necessary  expenditures,  taking 
their  profit  on  the  investment  in  reduced  charges  for  water  and  efficient 
service,  no  effort  will  be  made  to  estimate  interest  or  depreciation. 

The  necessary  expenditures  over  and  above  operating  expenses  for 
the  coming  ten  years,  if  meters  are  not  installed,  will  approximate  the 
same  amount  of  $6,000,000.00  as  follows : 

New  Settling  Basins  or  Filters $1,250,000.00 

Intake   Tower  and  Tunnel 550,000.00 

Revetment  of  two  miles  of  River  Bank 150,000.00 

Pumps,  Boilers,  etc 

Interest  on  Bonds  for  new  Works  to  be  begun  in  1915,  and  partially 

completed  by  1923 1,440,000.00 

Sinking  Fund  for  redemption  of  $12,000,000  bonds  to  run  30  years— 

$400,000  per  yr.  for  5  years 2,000,000.00 

$6,510,000.00 

So  that  it  would  seem  a  conservative  estimate  to  say  that  $87.57  will 
represent  the  average  cost  per  million  gallons  of  water  pumped  for  the 
next  ten  years. 


88  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


As  already  stated,  not  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  water  pumped 
is  delivered  to  paying  consumers,  so  that  it  must  be  sold  at  an  average 
price  of  $116.76  per  million  gallons  to  cover  the  total  cost. 

Tf  all  the  water  sold  were  measured  to  the  consumers,  it  would  be 
possible  to  prepare  a  schedule  of  rates  so  that  the  average  amount  of 
$116.76  per  million  gallons  would  be  collected.  But  with  only  one-third 
of  the  total  pumpage  measured,  the  fixing  of  flat  rates  for  the  rest  be- 
comes a  vexatious  problem. 

First,  in  considering  the  question  of  establishing  an  equitable  meter 
rate,  it  will  be  well  to  analyze  the  present  consumption  through  meters, 
and  the  rates  paid  for  same. 

For  the  year  ending  April  1st,  1912,  the  quantities  or  water  sold 
through  meters  and  the  rates  were  as  follows : 

Quantity  in  Rate  per  Amount 

Million  Gallons.      1000  Gallons.  Collected. 

303.6  25          cents  $  75,904.00 

254.5  20          cents  50,910.00 

283.4  15          cents  42,518.00 

362.0  13          cents  47,069.00 

648.8  11         cents  71,371.00 

6698.0  8         cents  535,833.00  Manufacturers  rate. 

99.6  7  1-3  cents  7,308.00  Special  rate  for  Jefferson 

Barracks. 

353.2  3  1-3  cents  11,704.00  Special     rate    for    Public 

Schools. 


9003.1  $842,687.00 

The  average  rate  at  which  this  portion  of  the  water  pumped  was  sold 
was  $93.60  per  million  gallons,  which  is  $23.16  less  than  the  estimated 
average  cost  per  million  for  the  next  ten  years.  Taking  the  average 
cost  of  the  water  pumped  during  the  last  eight  years,  viz:  $75.72,  and 
calculating  the  price  at  which  three-fourths  of  the  pumpage  must  be  sold 
to  meet  the  expenditures,  it  will  be  found  that  an  average  amount  of 
$100.96  per  million  must  be  charged  for  the  water  sold,  wrhich  is  $7.36 
more  than  was  actually  collected  for  the  water  sold  at  meter  rates. 

If  three-fourths  of  the  30,506  million  gallons  of  water  pumped  into 
the  mains  during  the  year  ending  April  1,  1912,  had  been  paid  for  at 
the  average  meter  rate  of  $93.60  per  million  gallons,  the  revenue  collected 
would  have  amounted  to  $2,140,819.20,  or  $4,707.15  less  than  was  actually 
collected.  This  means  that  the  water  sold  at  flat  rates  was  sold  for  ap- 
proximately the  same  rate  per  million  gallons  as  that  sold  at  the  meter 
rate,  or  $7.36  below  the  average  cost  of  the  past  eight  years. 

The  first  thought  that  would  occur  to  any  one  reading  the  above 
statement  would  be  that  if  the  Water  Department  is  selling  water  below 
cost,  how  is  it  that  there  is  now  and  has  been  for  twelve  years  a  substan- 
tial balance  ranging  from  $800,000  to  $2.000,000  to  its  credit?  Has 
the  Department  been  approaching  bankruptcy  all  these  years?  The 
answer  to  such  a  question  will  be,  first,  that  the  cost  per  million  gallons 
figured  on  the  pumpage  and  expenditures  of  any  one  year  may  show  a 
deficit,  while  other  years  will  show  a  surplus,  and  only  the  averages 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  89 


for  an  extended  period  can  mean  anything;  and  second,  that  the  un- 
appropriated balance  of  over  two  million  dollars  to  the  credit  of  the 
Department  in  1904,  has  been  reduced  to  less  than  a  million  and  a  quarter 
in  1912,  showing  an  absolute  loss  of  $4.72  per  million  gallons  pumped 
during  that  period.  Further,  the  present  surplus  will  be  almost,  if  not 
entirely,  expended  during  the  next  two  years. 

The  fact  that  the  Department  has  been  furnishing  water  to  con- 
sumers for  the  past  eight  years  at  less  than  actual  cost  cannot  be  too 
strongly  emphasized. 

If  the  Department  is  to  be  self-sustaining  in  the  future  a  general 
reduction  of  rates  is  not  to  be  considered,  but  a  revision  to  a  more  equit- 
able schedule  is  most  desirable. 

Returning  to  the  present  meter  rates,  a  glance  at  the  quantities  sold 
at  each  rate  will  show  that  they  are  based  on  no  logical  foundation. 
There  may  be  some  justification  found  for  giving  the  manufacturer  a 
rate  as  low  as  $80  per  million  gallons,  but  there  can  be  none  for  the 
ridiculously  low  figure  of  $33.33  for  the  public  schools,  which  should  be 
treated  as  other  consumers. 

The  present  meter  rates  are  as  follows: 

For  an  average  consumption  of  1000  gals,  or  less  per  day 25c  per  M 

For  an  average  consumption  between  1000  and  2500  gals,  per  day 20c  per  M 

For  an  average  consumption  between  2500  and  5000  gals,  per  day 15c  per  M 

For  an  average  consumption  between  5000  and  10,000  gals,  per  day 13c  per  M 

For  an  average  consumption  between  10,000  and  25,000  gals,  per  day.. ..lie  per  M 

For  an  average  consumption  of  more  than  25,000  gals,  per  day 8c  per  M 

For  Manufacturing  purposes  only,  any  quantity,  per  day 8c  per  M 

The  above  schedule  permits  the  user  of  water  to  take  advantage  of 
a  lower  rate  by  wasting  water,  and  makes  it  economical  for  him  to  waste 
water,  whenever  his  legitimate  use  of  water  approaches  the  maximum 
under  the  rate. 

For  example,  the  consumer  whose  average  use  of  water  is  over  18,400 
gallons  per  day  can  reduce  his  bill  for  water  by  wasting  water  until  his 
daily  average  reaches  25,000  gallons  or  more,  thus : 

Taking  the  period  of  six  months  (150  days)  for  which  bills  are 
rendered,  at  the  average  use  per  day  of  18,400  gallons,  and  at  25,000 
gallons  his  bills  would  be : 

18,400  gallons  for  150  days  at  lie  per  thousand $303.60 

25,000  gallons  for  150  days  at    8c  per  thousand 300.00 

The  nearer  his  legitimate  use  approaches  the  maximum,  the  greater 
his  saving  would  be,  for  example : 

22,000  gallons  for  150  days  at  lie  per  thousand 363.00 

24,000  gallons  for  150  days  at  lie  per  thousand 396.00 

These  rates  put  a  premium  on  wasting  water,  and  work  gross  in- 
justice on  the  careful  consumer,  who  uses  only  the  quantity  of  water 
he  needs.  Also  the  25-cent  rate  for  consumers  using  less  than  1,000 
gallons  per  day  virtually  prohibits  the  use  of  meters  to  small  consumers, 
and  enforces  an  exorbitant  charge  against  the  unfortunate  small  user, 
who  is  compelled  by  law  to  have  a  meter  placed  on  his  service  pipe. 


90 


REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


In  establishing  a  schedule  of  meter  rates  for  water  many  cities 
have  proceeded  on  what  may  be  called  the  Minimum  Rate  method. 

This  method,  properly  worked  out,  insures  an  equitable  rate  to  all 
consumers.  The  minimum  rate  for  each  size  of  meter  allows  the  con- 
sumer to  use  a  certain  quantity  of  water  per  year,  giving  him  a  lower 
rate  for  all  water  used  in  excess  of  the  allotted  amount. 

The  following  schedule  of  meter  rates  is  calculated  on  the  minimum 
rate  plan : 


Rate  Per  1000 

Size  of  Meter. 

Minimum  Annual 
Charge. 

Gallons  of  Water 
Allowed    Annually. 

Gallons   for  Water 
Used   in   Excess  of 

Allowance. 

%" 

$   3.00 

12,000 

16  Cents 

%" 

5.00 

25,000 

16  Cents 

•V  " 

9.00 

50,000 

16  Cents 

%" 

17.00 

100,000 

15  Cents 

1     " 

31.00 

200,000 

13  Cents 

1%" 

56.00 

400,000 

10  Cents 

2     " 

75.00 

600,000 

9  Cents 

3     " 

110.00 

1,000,000 

8  Cents 

4     " 

190.00 

2,000,000 

7  Cents 

6     " 

330.00 

4,000,000 

6  Cents 

8      " 

570.00 

8,000,000 

6  Cents 

The  charge  for  water  would  be  calculated  on  each  individual  meter, 
and  not  on  the  total  quantity  used  by  the  individual,  firm  or  corporation 
using  water  and  having  more  than  one  meter.  As  all  water  licenses 
must  be  paid  in  advance,  the  deposit  required  under  the  above  schedule 
would  not  be  the  minimum  charge,  but  would  be  in  each  case  an  amount 
sufficient  to  pay  for  the  average  amount  of  water  used  in  the  class  of 
premises  under  which  it  would  come. 

Fixing  the  amount  of  deposit  required  would  present  no  more  diffi- 
culty than  under  the  present  schedule,  the  only  difference  being  in  those 
cases  where  more  than  one  meter  is  used  to  measure  the  supply  into  the 
same  premises. 

In  case  of  vacation  of  premises,  rebates  would  be  paid  only  on  the 
amount  deposited  above  the  minimum  annual  charge,  and  only  such  part 
of  that  as  remained,  in  case  the  consumer  had  exceeded  his  annual  al- 
lowance. 

For  example,  if  a  license  were  issued  for  a  %"  meter,  minimum  an- 
nual charge  of  $9.00  and  a  deposit  of  $10.00  made  for  the  first  six 
months,  and  the  consumer  should  vacate  the  premises  inside  of  60  days, 
the  meter  showing  a  consumption  of  20,000  gallons,  the  rebate  given 
him  would  be  $5.50,  although  he  would  not  have  used  up  the  allowance 
of  25,000  gallons  provided  for  by  the  minimum  charge.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  his  meter  showed  a  consumption  of  40,000  gallons  during  the  60 
days  of  his  occupancy,  his  rebate  would  be  only  $3.00,  since  he  would 
be  charged  with  15,000  gallons  of  water  in  excess  of  his  allowance,  at 
the  schedule  rate  of  16  cents  per  thousand.  In  the  first  case  he  would 
be  paying  22y2  cents  per  thousand  gallons  for  the  water  used  during 
the  60  days,  and  in  the  second  case,  IT1/^  cents. 

The  above  schedule  affords  no  opportunity  for  a  consumer  to  reduce 
his  water  bill  by  wasting  water  until  his  consumption  becomes  great 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  91 


enough  to  give  him  a  lower  rate,  but  it  does  give  lower  rates  to  the  ma- 
jority of  consumers,  and  does  not  establish  any  list  of  preferred  cus- 
tomers. • 

To  apply  the  above  schedule  of  rates  to  the  900:5  million  gallons 
of  water  measured  through  7132  meters  during  the  year  ending  April 
1st,  1912,  and  paid  for  at  the  existing  meter  rates,  necessitates  a  division 
of  the  total  quantity  measured,  among  the  different  sizes  of  meters  in 
use.  An  inspection  of  the  records  shows  that  for  the  3737  %"  meters 
in  service,  the  quantity  of  water  passed  through  each  meter  during  the 
year  ending  April  1st,  1912,  varied  from  10,000  to  350,000  gallons,  with 
an  approximate  average  of  150,000  gallons.  Approximate  averages  for 
the  other  sizes  are  given  in  the  table  below. 

The  proposed  schedule  provides  for  three  rates  for  %"  meters,  in 
order  to  allow  a  low  minimum  rate  for  the  small  user  of  water.  There- 
fore, the  total  quantity  of  water  passed  through  %"  meters  will  be  di- 
vided into  three  parts,  so  that  the  average  for  each  meter  will  be  150,000 
gallons. 

The  revenue  which  would  have  been  collected  last  year  under  the 
proposed  schedule,  is  as  follows: 


Approxi- 

Size of 
Meter. 

Number 
of 
Meters. 

Quantity 
in 
Million 

mate 
Average 
Per 
Meter  in 

Minimum 
Annual 
Charge. 

Rate  Per 
1000  Gals. 
Used  Above 
Allowance. 

Total 
Collections. 

Gals. 

Gals. 

%" 

1246 

62.3 

50,000 

$     3.00 

16  Cents 

%  11,214 

1246 

186.9 

150,000 

5.00 

16  Cents 

31,150 

% 

1245 

311.2 

250,000 

9.00 

16  Cents 

51,054 

% 

1102 

441.0 

400,000 

17.00 

15  Cents 

68,324 

795 

795.0 

1,000,000 

31.00 

13  Cents 

107,325 

1% 

402 

603.0 

1,500,000 

56.00 

10  Cents 

66.732 

2 

558 

1395.0 

2,500,000 

75.00 

9  Cents 

137,268 

3 

273 

1638.0 

6,000,000 

110.00 

8  Cents 

139,230 

4 

207 

1763.0 

8,500,000 

190.00 

7  Cents 

133,515 

6 

56 

2912.0 

52,000,000 

330.00 

6  Cents 

179,760 

8 

2 

118.0 

59,000,000 

570.00 

6  Cents 

7,260 

7132 

10225.4 

$932,832 

The  above  schedule  gives  an  average  charge  of  about  9%  cents  per 
1,000  gallons. 

These  figures  must  be  considered  only  as  approximations  based  on 
averages,  and  the  actual  effect  on  the  revenue  may  vary  considerably 
in  either  direction.  The  effect  on  the  individual  consumer  will  be  to 
lower  the  bills  for  all  small  consumers  who  are  not  at  present  enjoying 
the  manufacturers'  rate  of  8  cents  per  1,000  gallons,  and  will  include 
all  residences,  tenements,  stores,  shops,  stables,  garages,  office  build- 
ings, etc. 

The  manufacturer  who  uses  less  than  4,000,000  gallons  of  water 
per  year  will  have  to  pay  more  than  the  present  rate,  but  if  he  uses 
5,000,000  or  more,  his  rate  will  be  less  than  8  cents. 

The  adoption  of  a  sliding  scale  of  charges  such  as  one  proposed, 
as  well  as  that  now  in  effect,  is  in  accordance  with  the  rules  under  which 
private  business  is  conducted,  namely:  to  give  the  buyer  of  large  quan- 
tities the  advantage  of  lower  prices. 


92  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 

Although  there  is  in  St.  Louis  a  special  rate  for  manufacturers, 
established  no  doubt  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  inducing  them  to  lo- 
cate here,  yet  there  is  no  logical  reason  why  such  a  concession  should  be 
made  to  them.  The  manufacturer  of  today,  whose  presence  in  any 
community  is  desirable,  is  influenced  in  his  choice  of  a  location  more 
by  the  general  facilities  for  clean  and  wholesome  living  for  his  em- 
ployes, and  by  the  average  prosperity  of  the  locality,  than  by  the  propor- 
tionately small  expense  of  a  high  water  rate. 

To  show  what  an  inconsiderable  fraction  the  cost  of  water  is  of  the 
value  of  manufactured  articles,  the  following  examples  are  cited : 

At  one  of  the  large  breweries  in  St.  Louis,  the  total  water  license 
paid  per  year  amounts  to  a  tax  of  four  cents  on  each  barrel  of  beer  con- 
taining 31  gallons  and  sold  at  $8.00. 

Cost  per  automobile  manufactured  and  sold  for  $2,500 53  cts. 

Cost  per  thousand  brick  manufactured  and  sold  from  $7  to  $20 2  cts 

Cost  per  pair  of  shoes  manufactured  and  sold  from  $1  to  $2.50 $.00209 

The  water  license  paid  by  one  large  shoe  manufacturing  corpora- 
tion amounted  to  slightly  more  than  three  one-hundredths  of  one  p<r 
cent  of  its  total  annual  sales,  estimated  at  seven-tenths  of  one  mill  per 
pair  of  shoes.  Besides  there  is  no  earthly  reason  why  the  water 
works  should  supply  anybody  with  water  below  cost.  If  the  City  of 
St.  Louis  decides  that,  in  order  to  induce  manufacturers  to  locate  here, 
it  is  necessary  to  hold  forth  special  inducements  of  some  kind,  then 
these  should  take  the  form  of  cash  bonuses  paid  from  municipal  funds, 
reduction  or  exemption  from  general  taxation  for  a  number  of  years,  a 
remittance  or  abolishment  of  manufacturers'  licenses,  or  some  method 
in  the  expense  of  which  the  whole  tax-paying  body  of  citizens  should 
participate.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  expense  of  such  concessions 
should  be  confined  to  the  Water  Department,  where  a  certain  percentage 
of  license  paying  citizens  would  be  overcharged  in  order  to  make  up 
the  deficit  caused  by  a  preferred  rate  to  one  particular  class  of  con- 
sumers. The  injustice  of  such  a  procedure  is  too  apparent  to  require 
further  comment. 

All  over  this  country  the  subject  of  the  charges  made  by  public 
service  corporations  is  being  discussed  and  efforts  made  to  reduce  rate 
making  to  a  more  rational  basis  where  a  "square  deal"  shall  be  given 
both  to  the  consumer  and  the  investor.  These  efforts  are  especially 
directed  towards  the  prevention  of  unfair  charges  against  different 
classes  of  consumers.  Rates  should  not  be  based  upon  favoritism,  or 
the  amount  of  good  wrhich  the  consumer  gets  from  the  service,  nor  upon 
the  quantity  of  the  product  for  which  he  pays,  except  in  so  far  as  this 
last  item  affects  the  cost  of  the  service.  Following  out  this  idea  that  a 
municipal  plant  should  base  its  rates  on  absolute  justice  to  all  the  citizens, 
then  water  should  be  sold  to  all  at  a  uniform  price  per  1,000  gallons,  the 
only  difference  made  between  the  small  and  large  consumer  being  in  a 
graduated  service  charge  to  cover  the  interest  and  depreciation  charges 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.  93 

0 

on  the  cost  of  meters  in  place,  including,  of  course,  the  cost  of  main- 
tenance, reading  meters  and  making  out  and  delivering  bills.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  the  above  costs  applied  to  one  6"  meter  through  which 
60,000,000  gallons  of  water  passes  each  year,  will  be  many  times  less  than 
the  same  costs  on  four  hundred  %"  meters,  each  of  which  passes  150,000 
gallons  per  year. 

The  objection  to  a  graduated  service  charge  will  come  from  the 
small  consumers  who.  are  by  far  the  greater  in  number,  and  to  whom 
the  meter  charge  may  in  some  cases  approach  or  even  exceed  the  charge 
for  the  water  used. 

The  service  charge  calculated  on  a  4  per  cent  interest  charge  on 
the  cost  of  the  meter,  depreciation  estimated  on  a  life  of  15  years,  4  per 
cent  of  the  cost  taken  to  cover  testing  and  repairs,  and  a  flat  charge  of 
$.66  per  meter  for  clerical  work  and  delivering  bills,  will  amount  to 
the  following  schedule  in  even  figures: 

For  each     y2"  meter,  annual  service  charge $     2.00 

For  each     %"  meter,  annual  service  charge 2.50 

For  each     %"  meter,  annual  service  charge 3.00 

For  each  1     "  meter,  annual  service  charge 5.00 

For  each  iy2"  meter,  annual  service  charge 10.00 

For  each  2     "  meter,  annual  service  charge 14.00 

For  each  3     "  meter,  annual  service  charge 20.00 

For  each  4     "  meter,  annual  service  charge 30.00 

For  each  6     "  meter,  annual  service  charge 50.00 

For  each  8     "  meter,  annual  service  charge 100.00 

For  all  water  recorded  by  meter,  the  consumer  would  pay  a  flat  price 
of  ten  cents  per  thousand  gallons,  regardless  of  the  quantity  used. 

The  annual  service  charge  would  be  collected  only  for  the  time  the 
premises  were  occupied,  but  no  service  charge  for  any  period  should  be 
less  than  $1.00.  Rebates  would  be  made  to  the  owner  or  occupant  for  the 
unexpired  time  of  his  license,  and  for  the  balance  of  his  deposit  remain- 
ing after  the  value  of  the  water  used  had  been  deducted. 

The  annual  service  charges  adopted  by  the  Se\verage  and  Water 
Board  of  New  Orleans  are  as  follows : 

On  each    %"  meter $  4.00 

On  each    %"  meter 5.00 

On  each  1     "  meter 6.60 

On  each  1  y2"  meter '  10.60 

On  each  2     "  meter 14.60 

On  each  3     "  meter 22.00 

On  each  4     "  meter 36.00 

On  each  6     "  meter 64.00 

On  each  8     "  meter 97.00 

The  charges  proposed  at  Louisville  are  as  follows: 

meter $  4.50 

meter 6.00 

meter 9.00 

meter 12.00 

meter 24.00 

meter 36.00 

meter ". 48.00 

meter ..  72.00 

Water  rates  based  on  a  graduated  service  charge  as  previously 
outlined  will  be  without  discrimination,  equitable  and  just  to  all  con- 


94  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


sumers.  The  price  of  10  cents  per  thousand  gallons  is  as  low  as  water 
can  be  furnished,  so  long  as  all  extensions  and  additions  are  paid  for  out 
of  the  revenue,  and  also  so  long  as  water  is  furnished  free  for  public 
use  and  fire  protection.  It  is  questionable  whether  the  total  cost  of  ex- 
tensions and  additions  should  be  made  a  direct  item  in  rate  making. 
New  water  pipe  laid,  meters,  new  pumps  built  and,  in  fact,  all  new  work 
which  increases  the  capacity  or  adds  to  the  efficiency  of  the  service 
might  well  be  separated  from  the  items  making  up  the  yearly  expenditure 
for  the  water  works.  These  expenses  could  be  readily  taken  care  of  in 
the  following  manner:  Authorize  the  issuance  of  30  year  bonds  to  the 
amount  of  $6,000,000  to  cover  the  cost  of  necessary  extensions  during  the 
next  ten  years,  sell  these  bonds  from  time  to  time,  appropriate  the  money 
by  ordinance  for  each  piece  of  work  as  it  became  necessary,  and  charge 
only  the  interest  and  annual  sinking  fund  to  the  operating  costs  in  mak- 
ing up  rates. 

The  figures  for  operating  and  maintaining  the  works  during  the 
past  eight  years  give  an  average  cost  of  $926,055.09  per  year. 

Placing  this  item  at  $1,000,000  per  year  for  the  average  of  the 
next  ten  years,  the  total  expenditure  per  year  upon  which  rates  would 
be  based  is  as  follows: 

Operating  and  maintaining  $1,000,000 

Interest   on   bonds   now   outstanding 133,000 

Sinking  fund  bonds  now  outstanding 300,000 

Interest  on  new  bonds 120,000 

Sinking  fund  new  bonds 200,000 


Total    $1,753,000 

Estimating  the  average  annual  quantity  pumped  at  30,000  million 
gallons  (with  general  installation  of  meters),  would  give  $58.43  as  the 
average  cost  per  million  gallons  of  all  the  water  pumped.  Paying  con- 
sumers who  use  not  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  total,  must  pay  an 
average  of  $77.91  per  million  to  cover  the  above  expenditure.  Should 
the  method  of  paying  for  all  new  work  by  bond  issues  be  adopted,  the 
rate  per  thousand  gallons  could  be  made  8  cents  for  all  consumers. 

To  go  a  step  farther  and  abolish  the  free  use  of  water  entirely, 
making  all  city  departments  pay  for  water  used,  and  establishing  an 
annual  charge  for  fire  protection,  at  so  much  per  fire  hydrant,  would 
enable  the  department  to  supply  water  to  all  consumers  at  a  still  lower 
rate  than  8  cents  per  thousand  gallons,  probably  about  6l/2  cents. 

The  principal  arguments  for  the  adoption  of  the  above  policies  are 
that  the  payment  of  the  first  cost  of  all  new  work  should  be  distributed 
over  a  long  period  of  time,  and  not  made  a  direct  charge  on  water  users 
at  the  time  the  work  is  done ;  also  that  the  free  use  of  water  and  for  fire 
protection  should  be  made  a  charge  against  the  public  funds  since  all  of 
the  people  in  the  city  benefit  by  such  service.  If  the  various  departments 
of  the  city  government  to  whom  water  is  now  furnished  free  in  unlimited 
quantities,  knew  that  the  cost  would  be  taken  from  their  funds,  there 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS.     95 


would  soon  be  a  most  remarkable  decrease  in  the  quantities  found  neces- 
sary for  their  use.  At  least  25  per  cent  of  the  water  now  supplied  for 
free  and  public  use  is  wantonly  and  carelessly  wasted. 

A  great  many  users  of  water  under  the  present  flat  rates  are  really 
paying  less  than  half  the  rate  per  thousand  gallons,  that  the  small  user 
under  meter  is  obliged  to  pay,  where  the  law  requires  him  to  have 
a  meter.  Many  of  our  larger  residences  on  flat  rates  are  paying  less 
than  the  manufacturers'  rate  of  8  cents  per  thousand  gallons. 

The  following  table  gives  the  average  consumption,  number  of 
rooms,  occupants,  present  flat  rate,  and  the  amount  each  would  pay 
under  the  Service  Charge  and  Minimum  Rate  methods: 


No. 
Houses. 

Av.  No. 
Rooms 
in 
Each. 

Baths 
in 
Each. 

Toilets 
in 
Each. 

Total 
No. 
Occu- 
pants. 

Av.  Per 
House 
Per  Year 
in  Gals. 

LICENSES. 

Present 
Flat 
Rate. 

Service 
Charge 
Method 

Mini- 
mum 
Rate 
Method 

1 

30 

8 

8 

13 

764,952 

62.00 

79.50 

90.00 

1 

21 

2 

5 

10 

632,808 

50.50 

66.50 

78.00 

3 

14 

3 

3 

16 

303,504 

29.00 

33.50 

44.50 

3 

12 

2 

2 

13 

237,108 

23.00 

26.00 

36.00 

2 

11 

2 

3 

12 

149,596 

26.00 

17.50 

24.50 

3 

10 

1 

2 

18 

112,020 

16.00 

13.50 

19.00 

3 

9 

1 

1 

13 

88,392 

12.00 

11.50 

15.00 

6 

8 

1 

1 

24 

58,248 

12.00 

8.50 

10.50 

3 

7 

1 

1 

15 

67.78* 

10.00 

9.50 

12.00 

4 

6 

1 

1 

17 

58,920 

9.00 

8.00 

10.50 

2 

4 

1 

1 

12 

37,176 

8.00 

6.00 

7.00 

The  following  table  gives  the  average  consumption  measured  in  a 
number  of  residences,  stores,  etc.,  during  the  past  year: 


No. 
Houses. 

No.  Rooms 
in  Each. 

Total  No. 
Occupants. 

Av.  Per 
House 
Per  Year 
in  Gals. 

LICENSES. 

Present 
Flat  Rate. 

Service 
Charge 
Method. 

Minimum 
Rate 
Method. 

RESIDENCES  without  Toilets  or  Baths. 

3 

3 

9 

26,109 

2.00 

4.50 

6.00 

4 

4 

19 

28,332 

3.00 

5.00 

5.50 

7 

5 

31 

34,730 

3.00 

5.50 

6.50 

7 

6 

38 

40,036 

4.00 

6.50 

7.50 

6 

7 

34 

28,750 

5.00 

5.50 

5.50 

6 

8 

63 

38,649 

6.00 

6.50 

7.00 

5 

9 

58 

48,323 

7.00 

8.00 

9.00 

4 

10 

33 

51,428 

8.00 

8.00 

9.00 

1 

11 

8 

59,844 

9.00 

9.00 

10.50 

5 

12 

41 

50,867 

9.00 

8.00 

9.00 

1 

15 

13 

59,844 

11.00 

9.00 

10.50 

1 

18 

16 

33,662 

11.00 

8.50 

6.50 

SALOONS  WITH  ROOMS  ABOVE. 

1 

5 

3 

67,324               23.00 

9.50 

12.00 

1 

7 

8 

44,883               25.00 

7.50 

8.00 

1 

8 

12 

78,545        i        26.00 

11.00 

13.50 

1 

9 

6 

56,103                27.00 

8.50 

10.00 

The  residences  in  the  above  list  were  selected  each  as  representing 
the  average  house  of  its  size  and  class,  so  that  the  consumption  recorded 
could  be  reasonably  taken  as  a  basis  for  rate  comparison. 

It  is  evident  that  the  flat  rates  bear  but  slight  relation  to  the  quan- 
tity of  water  used,  the  charge  per  1000  gallons  varying  from  7%  to  55 
cents.  Either  the  Service  Charge  or  Minimum  Rate  method  make  a 
schedule  of  charges  more  equitable  and  upon  a  logical  basis.  Every 


96  REPORT  OF  THE  WATER  COMMISSIONER 


citizen  should  be  willing  to  pay  for  what  he  receives,  especially  if  he 
knows  that  water  is  being  furnished  him  at  cost.  Because  in  years  gone 
by,  he  has  been  getting  his  water  supply  at  the  expense  of  his  fellow 
citizens  is  no  reason  why  such  a  happy  condition  for  him  should  be  per- 
petuated. 

It  is  only  by  beginning  the  installation  of  meters  and  carefully 
watching  the  effect  upon  the  consumption  and  revenue  that  the  price  per 
1000  gallons  can  be  finally  established.  The  facts  and  figures  given  in 
this  report  and  the  deductions  therefrom  can  serve  only  as  a  basis  for 
a  start  toward  the  final  establishment  of  just  and  equitable  water  rates 
fitted  to  suit  our  local  conditions. 


